A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

varius,-a,-um (adj.A): having two or more contrasting colors, mottled, particolored, variegated; made up of different elements, diverse, various, multifarious, varied; different, of many different kinds, numerous and different; - [Chamaeleon; Chameleon thistle, = Cardopatium corymbosum L.] chamaeleon herbae est non una specie, invenitur autem nigra et albida. Verum albida est quae folia habet circa suam radicem in terra diffusa, varia, densa, aspera, quasi spinosa et in medio velut surculum acutum (pseudoGalen in Everett), chamaeleon is not one kind of plant, but both a black and a whitish one is encountered. Authentic [white Chamaeleon] is that which has whitish leaves that are around its root, spread out on the ground, variable [i.e. of different elements], dense, rough as though spiny, and also in the middle a pointed shoot.