A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

vacuus,-a,-um (adj.A): empty, void, vacant; free, disengaged, unoccupied; “empty; a term applied to cases when an organ does not contain what usually belongs to it. Bracts, which usu. support flowers, are called ‘vacuae’ when they have no flower in their axil” (Lindley); + abl. free from, devoid of; cf. inanis,-e (adj.B), empty, containing nothing, vacant; opp. repletus,-a,-um (part.A), filled; filled full + genitive or abl.; cf. cassus;

- flores disci saepius steriles, achaeniis vacuis, flowers of the disc very often sterile, with empty achenes.

- testa subcoriacea papillosa, in exemplaribus omnibus nobis visis vacua, seed-coat subcoriaceous papillose, empty in all specimens seen by us.

- fructus loculi vacui turgidi, introrsum contigui (B&H), the locules of the fruit empty, swollen, internally touching (contiguous).

- endocarpium utroque latere in loculum vacuum intromissum (B&H), endocarp on either side let into the empty locule.

- gluma florens vacuis brevior v. longior. (Gramineae) (B&H), flowering glume shorter than the empty [i.e. sterile glume] or longer.

- glumae tenues, angustae, carinatae, infima brevis, vacua, saepius 1-nervis, secunda pariter vacua (B&H), glumes thin, narrow, keeled, the lowermost short, empty, more often 1-nerved, the second equally empty.

- spiculae foemineae utriculus usque ad os 2-dentatum clausus; rhachilla exserta, apice glumas vacuas v. flores masculos ferens (B&H), the utriculus of the female spikelet closed as far as the 2-toothed mouth; the rhachilla exserted, bearing at the apex empty glumes or male flowers.

- [algae] cellulae plerumque quasi vacuae et hyalinae, rarius coloratae (Laurenciae quaedam), aut amylaceis (?) granulis. facile sese solventibus (Gracilaria, Sphaerococcus) repletae (Agardh), cells commonly almost empty and hyaline, more rarely colored (certain Laurenciae), or filled with (perhaps) amylaceous granules, easily breaking up from each other (Gracilaria, Sphaerococcus).