ME TALE PIS 421 



Merrittia Merrill (Senecio p.p.)- Compositae (8). r Phil. Is. 



Mertensia Roth. Boraginaceae (iv. 4). 30 N. temp, i in Brit., M. 

 maritima S. F. Gray (gromwell), on sea-coasts. 



Meryta Forst. Araliaceae (i). 15 New Caled., New Zealand, Poly- 

 nesia. 



Mesadenia Rafin. (Senecio p.p.). Compositae (8). 10 N. Am. 



Mesanthemum Koern. Eriocaulonaceae. 3 Madag. , trop. W. Afr. 



Mescal, Agave. 



Mesechites Muell.-Arg. = Echites L. (Apocyn.). 



Mesembryantliemuni Dill, ex L. Aizoaceae (n). 350 S. Afr. Xero. 

 of the most pronounced kind with very succulent 1. , usu. closely packed 

 together ; the young 1. stand face to face at the growing apex till well 

 grown, and thus protect the young bud. In M. obconellum Haw. the 

 pairs of 1. are congenitally united into a fleshy body with a little slit 

 in the centre. Several have thorns, sometimes fl. -stalks hardened 

 after the fall of the fl., sometimes branches, as in M. spinosum L. 

 (the leafy branches appear below these in the next year, in the same 

 axils). Fls. usu. term, on the stems, sol. or in dichasia or cincinni. 

 Outer sta. (due to branching) repres. by numerous petaloid stds., having 

 the appearance of a C. The mature ovary is 5-loc. with parietal plac. ; 

 this peculiar feature is due to an excessive growth of the peripheral 

 tissue during development, which gradually turns the loculi completely 

 over (cf. Punica). Fr. a caps, which opens only in moist air, contrary 

 to the usual wont of capsules. Some, e.g. M. edulc L. (Hottentot fig), 

 contain an ed. pulp. M. crystallimtm L. is the ice-plant, so called 

 because its 1. are covered with small glistening bladder-shaped hairs. 



Meso- (Gr. pref.), middle-; -carp, the middle part of a fr. wall; -chil, 

 of a lip ; -phyll, of a leaf; -phytes, average plants, suited to a fairly 

 and continuously moist climate. 



Mesochlaena R. Br. Polypodiaceae. i Malaya, Polynesia. 



Mesogyne Engl. Moraceae (i). 2 trop. Afr. 



Mesomelaena Nees (Gymnosf/ioetiusNees). Cyperaceae (11). 2 Austr. 



Mesona Blume. Labiatae (vn). 3 E. Indomal. 



Mesopanax R. Viguier = Schefflera, &c. p.p. (Aral.). 



Mesoptera Hook. f. Rubiaceae (n. i). i Malay Peninsula. 



Mesoreanthus Greene (Streptanthus p.p.). Cruciferae (i).- i Calif. 



Mesosphaerum P. Br. =Hyptis Jacq. (Labi.). 



Mesospinidium Reichb. f. (Odontoglossum p.p. BH.}. Orchidaceae 

 (ll. 19). 4 C. Am. to Brazil. 



Wespilodaphne Nees = Ocotea Aubl. p.p. (Laur.). 



Mespilus (Tourn.) L. (Pyrus Tourn. p.p. BH.}. Rosaceae (n). 40 

 N. temp. M. germanica L. is the medlar (ed. fr.). M. Oxyacantha 

 Crantz, see Crataegus. 



Mesquite grass, Bouteloua; - tree, Prosopis juliflora DC. 



Messersmidia L. = Tournefortia L. (BH. ). =Heliotropium L. (Borag.). 



Mesua L. Guttiferae (iv). 3 India, Java. M.ferrea L. (Na or iron- 

 wood) yields a valuable timber; its fls. are used in perfumery. 



Metabolism, the chemical changes going on in the elaboration of food. 



Metabolos Blume = Hedyotis L. (j5^.) = Olden]andia L. (Rubi.). 



Metalasia R. Br. Compositae (4). 20 S. Afr. 



Metalepis Griseb. Asclepiadaceae (n. 4). i Cuba. 



