256 GARDEN FLOWERS. 



Milk- Vetch. See Astragalus. 



Milkwort. See Polygala. 



Mimosa. This large family contains the sensitive plants, 

 M. smsitiva and M. pudica^ two stove shrubs, the foliage of 

 which is endowed with a very remarkable and interesting 

 sensibility, for the sake of which they are cultivated. The 

 flowers of both are purplish, — little globular balls of col- 

 ored threads, — not at all showy ; but the leaves are very 

 elegant. The peculiarity which obtains for them both their 

 name and popularity is the shrinking of the branches, and 

 folding-up of the leaves, at the slightest touch or disturbance. 

 If a leaf be touched, it falls down, and the leaflets close ; 

 and if the whole plant be shaken, or jerked, all the leaves 

 immediately close, and hang down. The seeds are sown in a 

 hot-bed in April, and potted off, as soon as they are large 

 enough to handle, into small-sized three-inch pots, in a light 

 soil of sandy peat and loam. They are best kept in a hot- 

 frame till June, when they may be planted out in a warm ex- 

 posure. They seed freely enough ; but, when they are grown 

 for seed, they are sown in February, and potted off in March. 

 They are also increased by cuttings in sand under bell-glasses, 

 in heat. M. se7isitiva is not so irritable as M. piidica. They 

 are only grown as curiosities. There are many other Mimo- 

 sas, chiefly shrubs of little interest. 



M. pudica (chaste or humble plant) ; stove shrub ; 2 feet ; 

 flowers purplish-lilac, in June ; Brazil ; 1638. M. se?isitiva (sen- 

 sitive) ; stove shrub ; 2 feet ; flowers pinkish-lilac, in June ; 

 Brazil-, 1648. 



MiMULUS. Monkey-floiver. [Scrophularinae.] Showy 

 herbaceous plants, mostly perennial ; some small musk 

 plants are annuals. The ornamental garden Mimuluses are 

 mostly seedling varieties raised by florists, the offspring of 

 M. hiteiis, guttatus aild variegatus on the one hand, and 



