A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

tortus,-a,-um (part.A): tortuous, turned, twisted, crooked; whirled around; intricate, perplexed [> L. torqueo, torquere torsi tortum, to twist, wind, wrench]; see turned, wound (= verb), see bent, crooked;

- folia acuminata, acumine recto vel semitorto (DozyMoek), the leaves acuminate, with the acumen straight or half-twisted.

- foliis parce papillosis, acumine interdum semel torto (Austin), with the leaves sparingly papillose, with the acumen sometimes twisted once.

- [hepatic] capsula magna plus 3 mm. longa purpurea. Elateres attenuati 200 um spiris duplicatis validis teretibus laxe tortis (Steph.), the capsule large, more than 3 mm. long, purple. The elaters narrow, 200 um, loosely twisted into paired, terete, well-developed spirals.

Carex torta, ‘twisted’ from the upper half of the perigynia tortuous.

Nasturtium,-ii (s.n.II), q.v., R. Brown. “From nasus, the nose, and tortus, tormented; the acridity of N. officinalis affects the muscles of the nose. Brassicaceae” (Paxton).