A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

tenax,-acis (adj.B), compar. tenacior,-ius (adj.B), abl.sg. tenacissimus,-a,-um (adj.A): tough, holding fast, tenacious; gripping, holding tight (or fast or hard); sticky, clinging, adhesive; persistent, firm, retentive; opp. fragilis,-e (adj.B), ' breakable,' or tener,-era,-erum (adj.A), ‘delicate, soft;’ see tacky;

- contextu solido vel tenaci, with the context solid or tough.

- cellula tenax, holdfast cell.

- fungus ipse ephemerus est: sed pilei ejus, substantia tenace praediti, postquam projecti sunt, paullatim exsiccati , diutissime persistunt (S&A), the fungus itself is ephemeral, but its pilei, provided with a tenacious substance, after it has been thrust out, after having dried out little by little, persist a very long time.

- (fungus) totus fungus coelo pluvio lubricus, sed stipes tenax, glutinosus (S&A), the whole fungus in rainy weather lubricous [i.e. smooth and slippery], but the stipe is tough, glutinous [i.e. like glue, tacky].

- [Clavaria viscosa; fungus] totus fungus tenacissimus lubricus quum humet, post exsiccationem rigens, fragilis (S&A), the whole fungus extremely tough, lubricous [i.e. smooth and slippery] when wet, after drying out, rigid, fragile.

- cortex tenax difficilime frangitur, funibus perficiendis idoneus (DesFon), the bark is tough, broken with the utmost difficulty, suitable for the creating of rope.

- [fungus] substantia tenacissima, suberoso-spongiosa, tempore sereno sicca, sed pluviarum, imo meri atmosphaerae humoris, avide bibula: unde fungus coelo humente madidissimus manu pressus spongiae prorsus ad instar aquam promit (S&A), the substance very tough, corky – spongy, dry in clear weather, but [in the time] of the rains, more precisely the unmixed water content of the atmosphere, avidly absorbent: from which source the completely wet [i.e. saturated] fungus, in the moistening weather, when pressed by the hand, puts forth water, very much like a sponge.

Amblystegium tenax, a pleurocarpous moss clinging to wet rocks; Crataegus tenax, ‘tenacious,’ perhaps in reference to the persistent lobes of the calyx persistent on the fruit.