ee ee, Se ee ee eee 
AN ENCYCLOPADIA 
OF HORTICULTURE. 341 
Measures—continued. 
indispensable for ascertaining the area of large spaces 
or the length of walks, roads, &. Measuring-rods are 
always useful in gardens, for fixing the necessary dis- 
tances, when planting various crops. Without measure- 
ments of some sort, no regularity in cropping could 
be insured. A 10ft. rod is a handy length. It should 
be 14in. square, and be marked every 3in. on two op- 
posite surfaces, the numbers of the feet reading from 
either end. 
MECONOPSIS (from Melon, a Poppy, and opsis, 
resemblance; alluding to the general appearance of the 
plant). ORD. Papaveracee. A genus comprising eight 
species of showy, hardy, perennial, biennial, or rarely 
annual herbs, of which one is found in Western Europe 
(Britain), one in North-west America, and the rest in 
the Himalayas. Flowers yellow, purple, or blue, large, 
showy, on long peduncles, nodding when in the bud; 
petals four; sepals two. Leaves entire, or often lobed 
or dissected. The species are of easy culture in any 
moderately good garden soil. Seeds of the Indian species 
should be sown, during March, in a gentle hotbed, and 
the seedlings transferred, when large enough to handle, 
to the open border. 
acul i i ellow s ns 
I X eoar 
covered with rigid, hair-like prickles. h. 2ft. North-west India, 
. Biennial. (B. M. 5456.) 
M. cambrica (Welsh).* Welsh Poppy. Jl. pale yellow, erect, on 
long peduncles. May to August. l. numerous on the lower part 
of the stem, pinnate, stalked ; lobes toothed, somewhat decur- 
rent. B. ift. Western Europe (Britain). A very showy and de- 
sirable perennial; it thrives well on rockwork. (Sy. En. B. 63.) 
M. nepalensis (Nepaulese).* jl. pale golden-yellow, nodding, ` 
from 2in. to bin eee Flower stems from 3ft. to 5ft. high, 
not much branched. Himalayas, 1866. A handsome free-flowering 
biennial. (B. M. 5585.) j 
M. simplicifolia (simple-leaved). jl violet-purple, solitary and 
terminal, from 2in. to Sin. across. June. l. tuted, lanceolate 
slightly toothed, covered with a short, dense, brownish pubes- 
cence. A. 3ft. Nepaul, 1855. Biennial. (I. H. 114.) 
M. Wallichi (Wallich’s).* . pale blue, drooping on the slender 
branches, somewhat evanescent. June. 1. pinnatifid, hispid, 
sometimes lft. long. R. 4ft. to 6ft. Sikkim Himalayas, A very 
hand perennial. (B. M. 4668.) 
M. W. fusco-purpurea (brownish-purple). A very effective and 
ornamental variety, having brownish-purple flowers 
ina loose panicle, 2in. to 3in. in diameter. (B. M. 6760.) 
MECOSORUS. Included under Gleichenia. 
MEDEOLA (name of mythological origin, after the 
sorceress Medea; from the wholly imaginary notion 
that the species possesses great medicinal virtues). Syn. 
Gyromia. ORD. Liliacew. A monotypic genus. The 
species is a hardy herbaceous plant, with a white 
thizome, tasting like Cucumber. It thrives best in a 
rich sandy soil. Propagated by dividing the plant, in 
spring. 
M. asparagoides. See Myrsiphyllum asparagoides., 
M. virginiana (Virginian). fl. yellow or greenish-yellow, in 
a sessile 8 te 2 whorled, obovate-lanceolate, sessile. 
Stem erect, simple. h. Hin. Virginia, 1759. (B. M. 1316.) 
ME DTC AGO (from Medike, a name given by Dios- 
corides to a Median grass). Lucern; Medick. ORD. 
Leguminose. A large genus (above forty species have 
been described) of hardy herbs, or rarely shrubs, of 
scarcely any horticultural value. Flowers yellow or 
violet; peduncles axillary, one, two, or many-flowered. 
Leaves trifoliolate, stalked; leaflets usually toothed. The 
only species worth cultivating is M. falcata, which is 
suitable for banks or slopes, borders, and rough rock- 
work of all sorts. It thrives in any ordinary soil. Pro- 
pagated by divisions, or by seeds. The value of M. sativa 
is wholly agricultural; and, from its great importance in 
that sphere, it could not be omitted a= this bate 
arborea i ellow, in umbellate racemes, ay 
T ron ah ggg E Ad entire at edge. 
ight green. Stem arborescent. h. 
1585. B. C. 1379.) 
.I., leaflets obovate, 
2ft. to 8ft. South Europe, 
Medicago—continued. 
M. falcata (sickle-shaped). fl. usually pale yellow, but occasionally 
violet and green, in short, close, ‘axillary racemes, on stalks 
longer than the leaves. Summer. ., leaflets oblong, toothed at 
the apex, entire at base. Stems 2ft. to 4ft. long, prostrate, 
Europe (Britain), North Asia, and India. A hardy herbaceous 
perennial. (Sy. En. B. 336.) ; 
M. marina (sea-loving). fl. yellow; RN many: flowered. 
June to August. Pods cochleate, roundish, muricate. J., leaflets 
7700 obovate, entire. A. Ift. South Europe, 1596. (S. F. G. 
M. sativa (cultivated), Purple Medick or Lucern, A. violet, 
large, on racemose peduncles. Summer. J., leaflets obovate- 
oblong, toothed, mucronate. Stems erect, glabrous. A. 2ft. 
Mediterranean roppa (naturalised in Britain). Hardy herbaceous 
perennial. (Sy. En. B. 334.) 
MEDICIA. A synonym of Gelsemium (which see). 
MEDICK. See Medicago. ; 
MEDINILLA (named after J. de Medinilla, of 
Pineda, Governor of the Marianne Islands). Orp. Melas- 
tomaceæ. A genus comprising about fifty species of erect 
or scandent, stove, evergreen, branched shrubs, natives of 
the East Indies, Ceylon, the Malayan and Pacific Islands, 
rare in the West African and Mascarene Islands. Flowers 
Fig. 531. FLOWERING BRANCH OF MEDINILLA MAGNIFICA. 
white or rose, bracteate or ebracteate, disposed in panicles, 
or in lateral, many or few-flowered cymes; bracts some- 
times large, rosy; calyx entire, or four to six-toothed; 
petals four or five (rarely six), ovate, oblong, or obovate, 
te. Berry globose or ovoid. Leaves opposite or ver- 
ticillate, rarely very unequal, or solitary and alternate, 
2 
