390 
THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 
Muehlenbeckia—continued. 
acute, or apiculate, glabrous, in young plants trilobed. Australia, 
Kc., 1822. A e, rambling, and climbing, leafy, greenhouse 
bush. SYN. Polgyonum adpressum (under which name it is 
figured in B. M. 3145). 
Fic. 604. MUEHLENBECKIA COMPLEXA, 
M. complexa (embracing green, inconspicuous. 
Ir. of a F tooth. like divisions 
like miniature icicles, ing in small clusters on 
ral shoots from the more ripened stems. 1. alternate, some- 
N New Zealand, 1870. Hardy. See 
M. — 2 flat · branched lateral, x 
flower „ 8 . ene 
Berries mem 
15 k 8 
paa . hastate-lanceolate. Branches leaf 
der which nanio it is Hgured in B. M. 5382). 
MUELLERA (named after Otto Frederick Müller, 
1730-1784, a Danish botanist, and one of the editors of 
the “Flora Danica”). Syn. Coublandia. ORD. Legumi- 
nose. A genus comprising a couple of species of trees, 
the one inhabiting tropical South America, and the other 
(not much known) the hotter parts of Mexico. Flowers 
violet or whitish, in axillary or lateral racemes; calyx 
truncate, very shortly or obsoletely toothed; 
broad, ovate or sub-orbiculate, exauriculate. Leaves 
alternate, impari-pinnate; leaflets opposite, exstipellate. 
M. moniliformis, the species introduced to cultivation, is 
a tall, evergreen, woody, stove climber, differing from 
Lonchocarpus in the pod, which is thick, and of a dry, 
fleshy consistence. For culture, see Lonchocarpus. 
M. moniliformis (nec ed). H. whiti 
axillary A tert ne ee 2 i 
: acute, glabrous, petiolulate 1 ts. Tropical America, 1782. 
 MUGWORT. A common name for Artemisia 
vulgaris (which see). 
F MUKTA (said to be the Indian name). ORD. Cucur- 
bitacew. A small genus (one or two species) of stove, 
climbing, herbaceous plants, inhabiting Asia, Africa, and 
tropical Australia. Mukia is allied to Bryonia, but differs 
n the solitary or fasciculate female flowers, the campanu- 
“es uy — at being produced at the apex, 
“the sphe sessile } , and the scrobiculate i 
m. scabrella (slightly scabrous). fl. yell 
„ er 
e india, Le. An elegant idle anne, u e 
MULBERRY (Morus nigra). The Mulberry-tree has 
been an object of cultivation in Asia, and in some parts 
of Europe, from a very remote and, possibly, unknown 
period, not so much on account of its fruit as for the 
use of the leaves, which are celebrated for providing silk- 
worms with food; silk, however, of superior quality is 
produced when the White Mulberry (M. alba) is the 
food-plant. The fruits are, however, very juicy when 
well ripened, and have a sub-acid flavour. They are 
occasionally used for dessert, and are also sometimes 
preserved, of made into a sort of syrup or wine. Many 
trees of large dimensions, and of a very great age, are to 
be found, as the Mulberry is extremely long-lived when 
planted in a deep, somewhat moist soil, and in a favoured 
situation. The first trees grown in England are stated 
to have been introduced in 1548, and planted in the 
gardens of Syon House. A great stimulus seems to have 
been given to Mulberry cultivation at the latter part of 
the sixteenth, and the beginning of the seventeenth, cen- 
turies, when, it is recorded, ‘‘ Mulberry gardens were 
common in the neighbourhood of London; but, either 
from the climate, or the prejudices of the people, the 
growth of silk never prospered.” In the same neigh- 
bourhood, at the present time, the tree succeeds and 
ripens its fruit well as a standard. Mulberries also thrive 
in all the more favourable parts of the country, but 
require a warm aspect and wall protection in the North 
of England, and in Scotland. It is questionable if the 
fruits are of sufficient merit, generally, to warrant such 
valuable space being devoted extensively to their culti- 
vation. Where there is an orchard-house, a good-sized 
bush or standard tree may be grown in a tub or large 
pot, and excellent crops obtained, which will well repay 
for the protection afforded by their superior quality. The 
fruit does not keep long; consequently, the sooner it is 
used after becoming ripe, the better. 
Propagation, §c. There are various methods by which 
the Mulberry may be propagated, namely, by seeds, by 
cuttings, and by layers; also by budding and grafting. 
Seeds should be washed from ripe fruits, thoroughly 
dried, and stored in bags, in a cool place, until spring; 
they may be sown under glass in March, or in the open 
ground in May. Except for obtaining stocks, this method 
is not much practised, as the plants are so long in reach- 
ing a size large enough for fruiting. Cuttings, Ift. long, 
some two-year-old wood attached, should be taken from 
with well-ripened parts of the upper branches, either in 
early spring or in autumn, and be planted deeply, in a 
shady border, so that only about two eyes are left above 
ground. Even large branches themselves will root if 
inserted as deep as possible, and protected during winter. 
These latter should be kept steady and upright, by each 
being tied to a stake. Layering young branches is a 
common mode of propagation, also performed in autumn 
and spring, by any of the usual methods of layering that 
are available. Shield-budding is successfully practised on 
the Continent, in July and August, on stocks obtained 
either from seeds or cuttings. Grafting is also practicable, 
but is not much adopted, as the tree bleeds so much 
when cut. The Mulberry-tree succeeds in almost any 
good garden ground, but prefers a deep, rather light, 
and somewhat moist soil. In cold or wet situations, and 
in those which suffer much from drought, the fruits are 
liable to drop before getting fully ripened. When the 
trees are planted on lawns, or in orchards, and the ground 
beneath covered with turf, the fruits may be collected 
in a clean state, after being allowed to ripen so as to 
fall off; the latter are much sought after, and quickly 
devoured by birds. The Mulberry is amongst the latest 
of trees to burst into leaf in spring. The foliage is of 
a remarkable dark or bright green colour, in com 
with other trees in summer; and it is wholly destroyed 
by the first appearance of frost in autumn. 
MULBERRY, INDIAN. See Morinda. 
