Monday words: saxicolous, rupicolous

[ersatz-read.livejournal.com]

saxicolous (săk-sĭk′ə-ləs), adj.
Living on or among rocks.

Etymology:  Latin, from saxum, stone/rock + colere, to inhabit

rupicolous (ro͞o-pĭk′ə-ləs), adj.
Living on or among rocks.

Etymology:  Latin, from rupes, crag/rock + colere, to inhabit.

Both words are used primarily to describe plants living on rocks, such as lichens.
An 1892 dictionary of botanical terms says the distinctions between these terms are "mainly slight and inconstant".
Saxicolous is the more common of the two.

Comments

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

That "mainly slight and inconstant" explains my confusion.

---L.