Relating to or resembling cloves; having the characteristics or qualities of clove plants or their compounds.
From 'caryophyll-' (clove) plus the adjectival suffix '-ous'. Ultimately from Greek 'karyon' (nut) and 'phyllon' (leaf), referring to the plant's structure.
Botanists use this term to describe plants in the Caryophyllaceae family—which includes both the carnation AND the common chickweed!
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