MUSSAENDA 437 



propagated entirely from the rhiz. and produce no seeds (cf. Citrus]. 

 About 200 different forms are in cult., and some other sp. are oc- 

 casionally employed. There is a vast trade, esp. to the U.S., from 

 C. Am., Jamaica, Canaries, &c. In Venezuela, &c. alcohol is pre- 

 pared. The dried fr. are ground to form plantain-meal. The stalk 

 of the infl. of M. Ensete (Abyss.) is cooked and eaten. The leaf- 

 stalks of J\l. textilis Nee (Philippines, &c.) furnish a useful fibre, 

 known as Manila hemp or abaca. [For details of economic uses, &c. , 

 see A'ew Bulletin, Aug. 1894.] 



Musaceae (EP.; Sdtamineae p.p. BH.}. Monocots. (Scitatnineae). 

 6 gen., 70 sp. trop. They are (except Ravenala) gigantic herbs 

 with usu. freely branching rhiz. from which the 1. spring ; the sheaths 

 of the 1. are rolled round one another below, and form what looks 

 like an aerial stem, attaining in the banana some yards in height. 

 The 1. is large and oval, with a stout midrib, and parallel veins run- 

 ning from it to the edge ; it is rolled up in bud. The edge is easily 

 torn between the bundles, as they do not join in the SJine way as in 

 a Dicot. ; and so the wind and rain soon reduce the 1. to a very 

 ragged condition. Fls. in cymes or racemes with large brightly 

 coloured bracts or spathes ; usu. ? , exc. Musa, and -|- , but nearer to 

 the usual type of Monocotyledonous fl. than those of other Scitami- 

 neae. P 3 + 3, free or united in various ways, both whorls petaloid; 

 A 3 + 2, the post. sta. repres. by a std. ; G (3), 3-loc., with i <x> ov. 

 in each loc. Berry, caps., or schizocarp. Seed with straight embyro 

 and mealy perisperm. Fls. rich in honey, and visited by bees and 

 birds. Musa is an important economic genus. 



Classification and genera: closely related to the other Scitamineae 

 (joined by BH.), less closely to Liliiflorae and Orchids. 



I. MUSOIDEAE (1. alt., fl. collateral, post. P leaf free): 



Musa. 

 II. STREL1T7.I01DEAE (1. in i ranks, fl. in cymes, K free) : 



Ravenala, Strelitzia, Heliconia. 



III. LOWIOIDEAE (1. in 2 ranks, fl. in panicles from rhiz., 

 K tubular) : Lowia, Orchidantha. 



Musanga C. Sm. ex R. Br. Moraceae (in), i Congo. 



Muscadinia Small (Vitis p.p.). Vitaceae. 2 N. Am. 



Muscari Tourn. ex Mill. Liliaceae (v). 40 Medit., Eur., As. M, race- 

 mosum Mill, (grape-hyacinth) in Brit. Collateral buds in axils. 

 Upper fls. of the raceme neuter, giving extra conspicuousness to the 

 infl. (cf. Centaurea Cyanus}. 



Muscaria Haw. =Saxifraga Tourn. p.p. (Saxifr.). 



Muschleria Sp. Moore. Compositae (i). i Angola. 



Museniopsis Coulter et Rose. Umbelliferae (in. 5). 10 Mex., W. U.S. 



Musenium Nutt. (Mitsineitm Rafin.). Umbell. (in. 4). 3 N. Am. 



Musgravea F. Muell. Proteaceae (n). i Queensland. 



Muskit, cf. Mesquite. 



Musk mallow, Alalva moschata L., Hibiscus ; - melon, L'ltfitmis Melo 

 L. ; - orchis, Herininium Monorchis R. Br. ; - plant, Minnilns 

 inoschatus Dougl. ; - thistle, Car duns nntans L. 



Musquash root (Am.), Cicitta inaculata L. 



Mussaenda Burm. ex L. Rubiaceae (i. 7). 35 palaeotrop. One sepal 



