THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 105 



the second applied l)y Didscurides to the marsh niaUow. 

 The faniDUs Arahian ph\>ciaii. Axicentia, i(a\'e the name- "\ 

 Ah]itHoii to a ji^enus (»f mallows more than a thousand \ears 

 aj(o. hut the sis^nilicance of the name is not clear. I.ast in 

 the list is Ki^stclctzkya named for the I'ohemian hotanist. 

 \'. F. Kosteletzky. 



The plants of the Mahaceae are so univers;ill\- called 

 mallows that it is difficult to sa)' which are the true <»nes. 

 Since the ^enus AJalra is the leader of the family we nii^ht 

 infer that the species it contains are so well entitled to he 

 known as I he mallows as an}-. The hest known and most 

 ahundant species is Mah'o rotundifolia an insignificant weed 

 hut known to children as "cheeses," and "pancake-])lant" he- 

 cause of the round Hat groups of ovaries wliich are eclihle 

 when y<iung. Other words of similar significance are "dcjll- 

 cheese," "fairy-cheese," "Hutch cheese" and "cheese-flower." 

 No douht "hutton-weetl" has the same origin. The plant 

 spreads ahout on the ground in waste places and produces 

 man}- pink-white flowers which gives reason for most of its 

 other names, notahl}- "low mallow," "dwarf mallow," "com- 

 mon mallow," "running mallow," "countr\- mallow" and 

 "hlue mallow." In some sections the word mallow has heen 

 corrujjted into "malice." We have no idea what the name 

 of "|)ellas" ai)plied to our |)lant hv P)ritton nia\- mean. 



The musky odor ot the hlossoms has evidently given the 

 name of "musk mallow" to Malva moschata. Other names 

 for it are "musk," "musk rose," and "musk plant." The 

 species may frec|uently he found in the waste lands near the 

 earlier settled parts of our country. \'erv much like the 

 musk m;dlow and occasionall}- found in the same places is 

 Mah'a alcea the "European mallow" or "\ervain mallow." 

 It is difficult to see any resemhlance in this plain to an\- 

 species i>f verhena with which we are familiar and the reason 



