Sativum

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Referring to a species or variety cultivated by humans for food or medicinal purposes; describing plants domesticated for their useful properties; relating to organisms intentionally propagated for agricultural or therapeutic use
2. Indicating plants selected and bred for human consumption or health benefits; pertaining to cultivated species characterized by their practical applications; relating to flora grown under controlled conditions for utility
3. Denoting cultivated botanical varieties used in cooking or healing; describing domesticated plants with beneficial attributes; relating to species maintained through cultivation for human advantage

Etymology: Latin "sativus" meant "sown," and so "cultivated," as opposed to wild. It comes from "serere," "to sow," so its core idea is simply that a plant was planted rather than left to grow on its own. Latin writers often set it against "silvestris," "of the forest," where wild plants belonged. English "sow" comes from the same ancient root. In botanical names, the form used is the neuter singular, which agrees with neuter genus names such as "Allium," as in garlic, "Allium sativum." Carl Linnaeus and later botanists used the adjective to mark plants that humans grew, such as the garden pea, "Pisum sativum," and lettuce, "Lactuca sativa," where the feminine ending matches the genus.