ENCYCLOPADIA 
361 
OF HORTICULTURE. 
AN 
Mespilus— continued. 
Fic. 566. FRUITING BRANCH OF MESPILUS GERMANICA. 
ermani a Medlar. fl. white, solitary. 
m: gon l nel aeng downy, be most so SE 
neath. h. loft. to 20ft. Europe (Britain), Asia Minor, Persia. 
See Fig. 566. (Sy. En. B. 478.) There are several varieties of 
this species. See Medlar. 
M. grandiflora (large-flowered). A synonym of M. Smithii. 
M. parvifolia (small-leaved), A synonym of Crategus parvifolia. 
M. Smithii (Smith’s).* „. white, usually solitary, one-half the size 
of those of the common Medlar. May and June. J. oblong- 
elliptic, serrated, pubescent on the nerves beneath ; stipules of 
the sterile branches large and foliaceous. A. 20ft. Caucasus. 
Syn. M. grandiflora (S. E. B. 18). 
MESUA (named after two celebrated Arabian physi- 
cians and botanists, Mesue, who flourished at Damascus 
in the eighth and ninth centuries). ORD. Guttifere. A 
small genus (about half-a-dozen species) of stove ever- 
green shrubs or trees, natives of tropical Asia. Flowers 
large, axillary, solitary. Leaves narrow, very slender, 
crowded, elegantly marked with numerous parallel veins, 
diverging from the midribs. The undermentioned species 
thrives in a loam and peat compost. Propagated by cut- 
tings of half-ripened shoots, placed in sand, with slight 
bottom heat, in May; or by seeds, sown in heat, during 
March or April. te i 
iron- . white, about the size ose of the 
ee 8 hie axillary. N — a 
i ornamental hard-wooded tree, the deep 
yellow 3 finely with the white corolla. 
METAXYA. Included under Cyathea. 
METHONICA.. A synonym of Gloriosa (which 
e). 
METRODOREA (named after Metrodorus, a painter, 
who, according to Pliny, was the first to illustrate 
plants by figures). ORD. Rutaceæ. A monotypic genus, 
the species being a stove shrub, thriving best in a com- 
post of loam and peat. Propagated by cuttings, placed 
under a bell glass, in heat. £ 
M. atropurpurea (dark purple). f. purplish, glandular, small, 
borne on panicles, : L. eed. alee ees dotted. h. 5ft. 
Brazil, 1. The name of this plant is, according to 
Ben and Hooker's classification, atropurpurea. 
tham 
(F. d. S. 337.) 
METROSIDEROS (from metra, the heart of a 
tree, and sideros, iron; referring to the hardness of the 
wood). Ironwood. Orp. Myrtacew. This genus com- 
prises about eighteen species of greenhouse, evergreen, 
glabrous or hoary-tomentose, rarely scandent, trees or 
shrubs, inhabiting the Pacific Islands, from New Zealand 
to the Sandwich Isles, one being found in the Indian 
Vol. II. e pi 
Metrosideros— continued. 
Archipelago, one in tropical Australia, and one in South 
Africa. Flowers often showy, in dense, di- or tri- 
chotomous, terminal or rarely axillary, cymes; calyx tube 
campanulate, funnel-shaped, or urceolate ; segments five, 
loosely imbricated ; petals five, spreading. Leaves oppo- 
site or some rarely alternate, penniveined. The under- 
mentioned species are all from New Zealand. For 
culture, see Melaleuca. 
M. buxifolia (Box-leaved). A synonym of M. scandens. 
M. florida (flowery). A synonym of M, robusta. 
M. robusta (robust). f. red, disposed in a terminal thyrse, May. 
l. opposite, obovate-oblong, glabrous, veiny, A. 5ft, 1845, Shru 
(B. M. 4471, under name of M. florida.) 
scandens (elimbing).“ A. white, almost sessile. August, 
l. sessile, ovate, slightly hoary beneath. A. Aft. or 5ft. in pe, 
but in its native forests climbing to the summits of the lo 
trees. 1845, (B. M. 4515, under name of M. buxifolia.) 
M. speciosa (showy). A synonym of Callistemon speciosus. 
M. tomentosa (tomentose).* . rich crimson, large, in terminal, 
many-flowered, lax or dense cymes, thickly pu t. July. 
l. decussate, petiolate, lin. to 3in. long, * ow from linear- 
lanceolate to oblong or orbicular-oblong. A. 30ft, to 40ft. 1840. 
Tree. (B. M. 4488, 
METROXYLON (from metra, the heart of a tree, 
and rylon, wood; in allusion to the large proportion 
of pith contained in the plant). Syn. Sagua (in part). 
ORD. Palme. A genus comprising about half-a-dozen 
species of erect stove palms, natives of the Malayan 
Archipelago, New Guinea, and the Fiji Islands. Spadix 
large, loosely paniculate-branched; spathe coriaceous, 
aculeate; floriferous branchlets alternate, elongated, erect, 
recurved. Fruit ellipsoid or sub-globose, one-seeded. 
Leaves terminal, sub-erect, equally pinnatisect ; segments 
opposite, linear-lanceolate, acuminate; the costa setose 
beneath; margins at base recurved. The sago of com- 
merce is prepared from the trunks of M. leve and 
M. Rumphii. The species described below sueceeds best 
in sandy loam, and requires a strong, moist heat. Propa- 
gation may be effected by seeds, or by suckers. 
vitiense (Viti Fiji). L pinnate, with segments about lin. 
"heel: — inode — Aed pooner nae hak beset with scattered 
long slender prickles. 
METTERNICHIA (named after an Anstrian Prince 
Metternich, 1772-1859). Orp. Solanaceae. A ge 
comprising only a couple of species of handsome, gla- 
brous, stove, evergreen trees, in habit similar to Brun- 
felsia ; one is a native of Brazil, and the other inhabits 
Columbia. Flowers showy, shortly pedicellate, solitary, 
or a few at the apices of the branches; calyx campanu- 
late, four to six-fid; corolla funnel-shaped; limb fiye 
or six-lobed. Leaves entire, somewhat shining, scarcely 
coriaceous. For culture, see 
Fic. 8 BUM ATHAMANTICUM, showing Habit and 
* 3 Fruit (see next page). 
3 A 
