Vertebraria

noun Ver·te·brar·ia \ ˌvərtəˈbra(a)rēə \

Definition of Vertebraria

: a genus of fossil plants based upon rootlike remains of Triassic age that resemble a vertebral column

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Origin and Etymology of vertebraria

borrowed from New Latin, from Latin vertebra “joint,vertebra” + New Latin -aria²-aria

Note: Name introduced by the British botanist John Forbes Royle (1798-1858) in Illustrations of the Botany and Other Branches of the Natural History of the Himalayan Mountains (London, 1839), vol. 1, p. xxix*, and vol. 2, plate 2.