See Allium. 



MOM 



■ from ftrong winds, giving thcrn a little water to fet- 

 tle the earth to their roots ; after this they will re- 



• quire no other care but to keep them clean from 

 v/ecds, and to fupport them with ftakes, to prevent 

 their being broken by tl^e v/inds. The plants thus 

 preferved through the winter, will flower the latter 

 end of June, fo from theft good feeds may be ex- 



. pefted. . 



MOLY. 



MOMORDIC A. Tourn. Infl:. R. H. 103. tab. 29, 

 30. Lin. Gen. Plant. 1090. Male Balfam Apple; in 

 French, Pomme de Marveille, 

 . The Characters are, 

 . // bath male and female fiovjers upon the fame plant. 

 'The male flowers have a fpreading empck'ment of one leaf . 

 'The flower hath one petals which adheres to the em- 

 pakment. It has three fhort awl-fhaped fiamina^ in two 

 . of the JiaFfiina thefummits are lifid^ and eared on both 

 ' fides ; the third has a Jingle eared furamit ; thefe are com- 

 preffed in a body, The female ficwers have the fame em~ 

 palement and petal as the mak^ but fit upon the germen% 

 ^ ■• thefe have three fhort filaments without fummits. The 

 ; geimen fupport s one taper trifidftyhy crowned by three ob- 

 • ^^^ gibbous ftigmas: The germen afterward turns to an 

 - ; oblong fruity opening vjith an elafiicity^ having three mem- 

 branaceous cells, filled with comprejfed feeds. _ -..^r .,.' 

 V This genus of plants is ranged in the tenth feftion of 

 ■ Linnseus*s twenty^firfl: clafs, which ^contains the 

 .tjj plants with male and female flowers on the fame 

 plant, whofe ftamina coalefce togetH'ef^^i.*;I..,.j:, ; 

 The Species are, :p 



M O M 



■ 



lov/, v/h.en ripe, arid c:S\% out its feeds with an elaf^ 

 ticity. 



The fruit of the tljird fort h fliort and pointed like 

 that of the firft, but docs not f\v<ril fo large in the 

 middle. The 'ang!es of this are not deep, and the 

 whole furface is ciof^-Iy fet with fnarp tubercles ; this 

 changes to a deep Orange colour v.'hen ripe, andcafts 

 out its feeds in the like manner. 



The fourth fort is commonly called Wild orSpurtino- 

 Cucumber, from its calling out its feeds, too-ether 

 with the vifcid juice in which the feeds are lodged, 

 with a violent force, if touched when ripe •, and from 

 hence it has fometimes the appellation of Noli me 

 tangere, or touch me not. This plant grows natu- 

 rally in fome of the v/arm parts of Europe, but in 

 England it is cultivated in gardens for the fruiT, 

 which is ufed in medicine*, or rather the faecula of 

 the juice of the fruit, v/hich is the Elaterium of the 

 fliops. * ■ . 



This plant liath a large flcfliy root fomewhat like that 







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MoMORDicA {BalfaMftd) ppm_i§,angula|is tubercula- 

 cis, foliis glabris patenti-palmatis. Hort. Cliff. 451. 

 ::'-\Male Balfam- Apple with angular war ted fruity andfnooth 

 \^*f open-handed leaves. Momordica vulgaris. Toyrri. Inft. 

 h '• R. H. ^103. Common male B.alfam Apple, 

 '2.' Momordica (Charantia) pom'is angulatis tubercula- 



foliis villofis, longitudinaliter palmatis. Hort. 



h- " 



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T, . 



Male 



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iifcdifF.^ 451'. 



'ri^'^ fruity and hairy leaves^ which are longitudinally hand- 

 , fhaped. Momordica Zeylanica, pampinea fronde, 

 ■■■ ' fruftu longiori. Tourn. Lift. R. H. 103. Male Bal- 

 ^ ^^ Jam Apple of Ceylon ^ with a Vine leaf and a longer 



'^ 



■J.'* Momordica (Zeylanica) pomis ovatis acuminatis 

 tuberculatis,' ^foliis glabris palmatis ferratis. Male 

 .^ Balfam Apple with an oval, acute-pointed, warted fruit-, 

 ^ : andfmooth hand-fhaped leaves, which are fawed, Mo- 

 . mordica Zeylanica, pampinea fronde, fru(5tu brevio- 

 ';'! ri. Tourn. Inft. io3-.< Male Balfam Apple of Ceylon, 

 '■ ;' -with a Vine leaf and a fhorter fruit, , \ ^ >r ,:- ;ij - ^"-^ *, 

 ■ ^'4.' MoMORDXCA (£/^/m«/;?) pomis hifpidis, cirrhisnul- 

 ^'- -Tis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 1010. ^'Male^alf am Apple with a 



ickly fruit, and no tendrils to the Vines. Cucumis 



^\ 



V ■--' 



ininus diftus. G.'^BiP. 314. Wild C 

 Affes Ciiimnheri and the Elaienmjf 







y ^The firft fort grows naturally in'Afia, thefecondand 

 :^-- third in the ifland of Ceylon ; they are annual plants, 

 i>' which perifh foon after they tiave ripened their fruit; 

 -Vv thefe have trailing ftalks likethofe of the Cycumber 



-••.' 



i 



i 





of Briony, from which come forth every fpring fe- 

 veral thick, rough, trailing ftalks, which divide into 

 many branches, and extend every way two or three 

 feet; thefe are garnifhed with thick, rough, almoft 

 heart-fliaped leaves, of a gray colour, ftanding upon 

 .JongToot-ftalks. The flowers come out from the 

 ■,^, wings of the ftalk, thefe arc male and female, grow- 

 ing at different places on the fame plant, like thofe 

 of the common Cucumber, but they are much lefs, 

 oT a'pale'yellow "colour/ with a greenlfli bottom : 

 the male flowers ftand oh l|iort thick foot-ftalks, but 

 the female flowers fit_ upon the young fruit, which, 

 after tHie flower'ls fac^ed, grows^ to be an inch and a 



half long, and fwelling like'a Cficumber, 'of a gray 

 colour like the* leaves, and covered over With fhort 

 prickles. Thefe do not change their colour when 

 ripe, like moft of 'the othel- fruit of this clafs ; but 

 if attempted' to Ve gathered, they quit the foot- 

 ftalk, and caft out the feeds and juice with great vi- 

 olence ; fo that where any plants are growing, and 

 the fruit permitted to ftand till it is ripe, the feeds 

 will be fcattercd all round to a great diftance, and 

 there will be plenty of the plants produced the fol- 

 lowing fpring. 



, But when the fruit is defigned for ufe, it ft^ould al- 

 ways be gathered before it is ripe, otherwife the 

 greateft part of the juice "will be loft, which is the 

 only valuable part ; for the juice which is expreflrd, 



.. with part of the parenchyma of the fruir, is not to 

 be compared with the other ror its virtues; for the 

 Elaterium which is'made frorn clear^jdice of the 



jfruit, is nbuch whiter, and will retain its' virtUfes much 

 longer, than that which is extrad:ed by preflTure. 

 The three firft forts are annual ; tKeir feeds muft be 



^ fown oh a hot-bed the beginning of March, and 

 when the plants come up, they ftiould be trahfplant- 

 ed^out intoa frefli^ hot-bed, after the manner of Cu- 

 climbers or Melons, putting two plants of the fame 

 ind under each light, and the plants watered and 

 fliaded until they have taken root ;' 'aftei^ which they 

 muft be treated as Cucumbers, ' permitting their 



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branches to extend upon the ground in the fame man- 





V and Melon, which extend three or four feet_ in length, 



f lending out many fide branches which have tendrils, ^ ner, and obferve to keep them clear from weeds. 

 by which they faften themfelves'tb any neighbouring '" ■*^''" ' 

 "plants, to Tecure themfelves from being toflfed and 





*' 



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With 





At 



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'^* 



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blown about by the winds, and are garnifhed with 



leaves fliaped like thofe of the VincVThe leaves of 



the firft and third forts are fmooth, and deeply cut 



intofeveralfegments, and Ipread open like a hand; 



but thofe of the fecond fort are Extended more in 



^length, and are hairy. The fruit of the firft fpeciqs J 



;► is oval, ending in acute points, having feveral deep 



-angles, which have ftiarp tubercles placed on their 



' ' edges ; it changes to a red or purplifli colour when 



ripe, opening with an elafticity, and throwing out 



■ \ its feeds., ./ v .r, , :. .^ 



' -The fruit of the fecond fort is much longer than 

 ti;^ that of thp firft, 'an3 not fo deeply channelled. The 

 >''^ tubercles are fcattered all over theTurface, and are 

 -Vnot Iharp like thofe^ of],.the'dther;' this fruit is yel- 



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have too much wet, or cxpofe_^^ ^hem too much to the 



open air)^ they will produce their fruit in July, and 



their feeds will ripen in Auguft and September, when 



^. you muft obferve to gather it as loon as you lee the 



- fruit openi'bthei-xvife it'will be caft abroad, and with 



'> difficulty gathered up ag^j"- ":';'' p' '^* ^ 



'-' Thefe plants are prefervcS incurious gardens for the 

 \ oddnefs of their fruit ; But "as they take up a great 

 dealofroom in the hot-beds, requiring frequent at- 

 tendance, an^ being of little beauty or ufe, fo they^ 

 are not much cultivated in England, except in bota- 

 nic gardens for variety.'^ '' " ' : 

 There are fome perfons who put tliefe plants in pots, 

 and faften'tticm up to ftakes, to fupport the Vines 

 fromTrailing on th? ground, and place the pots in 

 ftgvesf where, when they are Ikilfully managed, they 



■^ .^ .^* :Vtr^,s._.Ai:;.^^' / ... ■ >i^1 ■ „, "will 



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