A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

tener,-era,-erum (adj.A): thin, delicate, gentle, soft, tender, as in young parts; (of the flesh) physically soft, tender, delicate; immature, of tender age, (of food, whether plant or animal) tender; “(of substances) not tough or resisting, delicate, soft, friable, etc.; (as a quality of soil) easily workable; fragile, frail (as a quality of water that is liable to deteriorate, opp. aqua dura; (of surfaces) soft, yielding; of air, soft or gentle; (of movement) actions: gentle” (Glare); declined like liber, libera, liberum, q.v.; compar. tenerior,-ius (adj.B), superl.: tenerrimus,-a,-um (adj.A); cf. flaccid; cf. tenuis,-e (adj.B), ‘thin, fine, slender;’ cf. atal-, atalo-, in Gk. comp. ‘tender-, delicate-, soft-;’ see tender; opp. rigidus,-a,-um (adj.A), ‘stiff, rigid;’ robustus,-a,-um (adj.A);

(of babies, infants) tender, new-born;

- [Canna indica; arrow-root] Hoc [i.e. amylum], lacte coctum, alimentum optimum teneris infantibus praebet, Salepis instar gelatinosum (Swartz); This, cooked with milk, produces the best gelatinous [i.e. pudding-like] nourishment for infants of tender age [e.g. new-borns], after the fashion of Salep.

- epidermide tenera, with a delicate epidermis.

- planta major, flaccida et tenerior, plant larger, flaccid and more delicate.

- planta monoica, pallide-virens, tenera, plant monoicus, pale green, delicate.

- involucra brevia, tenerrima, integra, the involucres shore, very delicate, entire.

- aer tener, abl. sg. aere tenero, thin or transparent air or atmosphere.

- caule teneriore, with the stem softer (more delicate).

- plantae parvae vel majusculae, tenerae vel robustae (Steph.), plants small or somewhat larger, delicate or robust.

- bulbus rhizomati tenero insidens, bulb on a slender rhizome mounted (Stearn).

- habitu tenero, with a slender habit.

- herbae rigidae vel tenerae, herbs rigid or soft.

- Gallis amer. Gommier Blanc. Apud quos Infusum gemmarum & foliolorum tenerum in morbis pectoris valde laudatur (Swartz), Gallis americanis, to the American Gauls [i.e. the Quebecois] Gommier Blanc. Among whom a thin [i.e. weak] infusion of the buds and leaflets is highly praised in diseases of the chest.

Myurella tenerrima, a moss with thin, soft-appearing habit; Carex tenera, ‘slender’ for the ‘very slender culms’ (Fernald 1950); Clitocybe tenera, a mushroom with a tall, thin stalk, hence a tall, slender growth habit (Miller).