104 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



most, part in the warmer parts of the world and comparative 

 Iv few occur in eastern America. Even these latter are not 

 all native but have come to us from other parts of the world 

 with other immigrants. 



The genus Mok'o, represented by the musk-mallow, 

 widelv escaped, and the low mallow, a common weed, gives 

 the name to the mallow family. Malva is derived from an 

 old Latin or Greek word meaning "soft" or "to soften" and 

 refers to the emollient leaves of many of the species. It is 

 interesting to note that mallow or words of similar sound 

 indicate the plants of this genus in most European languages 

 and that the French niaiirc means the same thing. Mak'a- 

 struiu, the name of a related genus is said by variovis authori- 

 ties to signify mallow-like, but the Centurv Dictionarv derives 

 it from mallow and a word for star and says it is properly 

 "star-mallow" because the flowers have five bracts arranged 

 in the form of a star. As a mere name, we prefer the lat- 

 ter, though rather convinced that the first derivation is the 

 correct one. 



There seems to be no doubt that SphacraUca is another 

 name built on a word signifying mallow and a word for 

 sphere, the latter alluding to the inflated carpels. Allied to 

 lliis, and referring to the medicinal Airtues of some of its 

 species, is Althaea from the Greek meaning "to cure." In 

 Modiola we have a Latin term derived from the Redman 

 measure, modiolus, suggestetl by the fruits. Napaca is the 

 Greek for dell and alludes to the wooded valley in which the 

 botanist Clayton, first found the plant. The generic name 

 of the poppy-mallows, CaUirhoc, is a mythological name ap- 

 plied to one of the Oceanid.s? and means, literally, "beautiful 

 flowing." The names of Sida and Hibiscus, given to two 

 other malvaceous genera are said to be ancient names, the 

 first given bv Theophrastus to some ancient Greek plant and 



