A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

rarus,-a,-um (adj.A), compar. rarior, rarius; superl. rarissimus,-a,-um (adj.A).

rare (Eng. adj.): > L. rarus; “characterized by wide separation of component particles: thin; seldom occurring or appearing: widely separated in space or time: few and far between (WIII).

1. far apart, scattered; “thinly placed; the reverse of such terms as dense, approximated, &c.” (Lindley); “thinly placed, not congested” (Jackson); “having wide interstices between its parts, of a loose texture, not thick or dense, thin; classically, of loose structure, loose-knit, porous; having an open texture, loosely woven; spaced thinly or at intervals (Glare); opp. densus,-a,-um (adj.A); opp. congestus,-a,-um opp. confertus,-a,-um (part.A), ‘crammed together;’ of things, (standing) far apart, here and there, scattered, dispersed, thin, scanty; opp. densus, confertus, solidus; cf. sparsus,-a,-um (part.A), scattered, strewn, sprinkled;’ cf. rare (adv.).

Compar. rarior (m./f/), rarius (n.), rather rare, rather uncommon.

NOTE: rarius is also the comparative adv. of raro (adv.), more rarely,‘less frequently;’ see raro (adv.).

- epicarpiis praeter glandulos raros glabris, with the epicarpia except for scattered glandules glabrous.

- rara in eremo arenoso Australiae centralis (F. Muell.), scattered in the sandy desert of central Australia.

- Palladii Opus agriculturae 3,25,11: VINVM PIRI ET ACETVM. Vinum de piris fit, si contusa et sacco rarissimo condita ponderibus conprimantur aut prelo, Palladius’ work on agriculture 3,25,11: ‘a wine and vinegar [i.e. sour wine] of the pear. Awine is made from pears, if crushed and [stored, collected] in a very loosely woven sack [i.e. bag to strain liquids], they are pressed together with weights or a press.

- [Solanum] racemi rari, terminals, solitarii, 4-7-flori (Swartz), racemes loose [i.e. not congested], terminal, solitary with 4-7 flowers.

- Pteris ramosus [sic], fronde rariori lobata, lobis linearibus (Swartz), Pteris ramose, with the frond lobed more openly spaced, with the lobes linear.

- Curcuma foliis lanceolato-ovatis; nervis lateralibus rarissimis (Linn.),a Curcuma with the leaves lanceolate-ovate; with the natural nerves very open.

- [Eriophorum] Linagrostis juncea alpina, capitulo parvo: tomento rariore (Linn.), Linagrostis [= syn.] resembling Juncus, alpine, with a small capitulum: with the tomentum more scattered.

- Panicum; folia lanceolata, culmi pedales; spica filiformis, rara, flexuosa rachi (Linn.), Panicum: the leaves lanceolate, the culms one foot [high]; the spikes filiform, openly spaces, with the rachis flexuose.

- Poa spiculis subulatis, panicula rara contracta (Linn.), Poa with the spikelets subulate, the panicles openly spaced, contracted.

- Aira panicula rara (Linn.), Aira, the panicles openly spaces [i.e. loose].

- MELICA: gramen avenaceum, locustis rarioribus (Linn.), a grass resembling Avena, with the spikelets more widely spaced.

- MELICA, locustis rarioribus muticis (Linn.), Melica, with the spikelets more widely spaced, muticous.

- POA: folia ad basin pilis longis raris (Linn.), Poa: the leaves at the base with long, widely spaced hairs.

- POA: gramen sylvaticum, panicula tenui e raris locustis composita (Linn.), a wild grass, with a panicle thin composed of widely spaced spikelets.

- Poa locustis rarioribus & angustioribus (Linn.), Poa with the spikelets more widely spaced and narrower.

rariflorus,-a,-um (adj.A: “with scattered flowers” (Stearn 1996).

2. rare (Eng. adj: in small numbers, scarce, few, rare (cf. paucus);“rare, uncommon” (Stearn 1996)> L. rarus; rare, uncommon; unusual, uncommon, infrequent; belonging to a small group or class (WIII); uncommon of its kind, scarce, rare, remarkable, extraordinary; cf. raro (adv.);

- (compar. with ‘magis): quod est magis rarum, that which is more rare.

- ex maxime raro genere hominum, from the most rare(remarkable) kind of people.

- exemplo raro & inaudito, a specimen rare and unheard of.

- minus rara quam Jungermannia excisa (Lindberg), less rare than J. excisa.

- species novas auctores in libris saepe pretiosissimis, rarissimis vel minus cognitis descripserunt, quos scrutator solitarius vix accipit (C.Muell.), authors have described new species in books that are often expensive, very rare or less known, which the solitary investigator hardly learns of.

- rara & parum cognita olim fuit haec species (Dill.), this species was once rare and little studied.

- [Amyris] rara arbor in sylvis & mihi non visa (Swartz), a rare tree in woods and not seen by me.

- [Lythrum] incolit culta Jamaicae rarius (Swartz), it lives in cultivated in the cultivated fields of Jamaica, rather rare.

- Joannis Ammani Stirpium rariorum in Imperio Ruthenico sponte provenientium Icones & Descriptiones (Dill.), the pictures and descriptions of Johann Amman [Swiss-Russian botanist 1707-1741] of the rarer plants spontaneously coming forth in the Kingdom of Ruthenia (Galicia and Lodomeria (1771-1918); Ukraine).

- [Usnea] in Anglia rarior est, quod sylvis densioribus, quas amat, destituatur (Dill.), it is more rare in England, which may lack the densor forests which it loves.

- [fungi] loca amat graminosa humidiuscula pratorum aeque ac sylvarum, quae minime rarus passim colit praecocior praesertim — a Junio in Septembris finem. (S&A), it loves grassy, somewhat moister places equally of meadows as of woods, which [places] it inhabits everywhere, the least rare, chiefly earlier-developing - from June into the end of September. perrarus,-a,-um (adj.A): very rare;

- (Berberidaceae) stipulae perrarae (B&H), the stipules very rare (uncommon).