AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



257 



MOM 



subject for skeletonizing. Seeds sown in a 

 green-house or frame can be planted out in 

 May. 



Momo'rdica. Balsam Pear, Balsam Apple. 

 From mordeo, to bite ; the seeds have the ap- 

 pearance of being bitten. Nat. Ord. Cticur- 

 bitacece. 



A small genus of annual and perennial 

 climbing herbaceous plants, with coarse leaves 

 and inconspicuous flowers, either white or 

 yellow. M. charantm, an East Indian species, 

 is the Balsam Pear of our gardens. It has 

 bright orange-yellow, pear-shaped fruit, from 

 four to six inches long, and covered all over with 

 little wart-like protuberances. When ripe the 

 fruit splits open and turns back, and its bright 

 red seeds give it a showy appearance. M. 

 halsamina, Balsam Apple, is in all respects the 

 same, excepting that the fruit is smaller and 

 nearly round. This fruit in Syria is famous for 

 curing wounds. They cut it open when un- 

 ripe, and infuse it in sweet oil, exposed to the 

 sun for some days until the oil becomes red. 

 It may then be applied to a fresh wound, 

 dropped on cotton. They grow best in a light 

 rich soil, with a sunny aspect, and should be 

 trained over a trellis or on brush. 



Monadelphous. Having all the stamens united 

 by their filaments into a tube. 



Monandrous. Having only one stamen. 



Mona'rda. Horse Mint. Named after M. 

 Monardez, a physician of Seville. Nat. Ord. 

 Labiatce. 



A genus of hardy herbaceous perennials, 

 common from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin. 

 They are mostly coarse growing, and of but 

 little beauty. 31. didyma, Oswego Tea, has 

 bright red, showy flowers, and is sometimes 

 cultivated under the name of Bee Balm. 



Monarde'lla. A genus of hardy annual or peren- 

 nial, pleasantly aromatic, fragrant herbs, 

 of the natural order Labiatce, much resembling 

 Monarda in aspect and inflorescence, natives 

 of North West America. They have bright 

 colored flowers, in terminal heads, and are of 

 easy cultivation. 



Moneywort. See Lysimachia. 



Money"wort. Cornish. Sibthorpia Europma. 



Moniliform. Formed like a necklace ; that is 

 to say, with alternate swellings resembling 

 beads. 



Moni'mia. Named after Monime the wife of 

 Mithridates. Nat. Ord. Monimiacece. A small 

 genus of shrubby plants, natives of the Mas- 

 carene Islands. Their leaves are opposite, 

 entire, coriaceous, and often slightly pubes- 

 cent ; none of the species are in cultivation. 



Monimia'ceas. An order of trees or shrubs, 

 natives of the warmer parts of Asia and 

 America, Australia, and tlie Southern Pacific 

 Islands. The bai-k and leaves are aromatic 

 and fragrant, and the succulent fruit of some 

 is eaten. There are over twenty genera 

 described and over 150 species. Monimia, 

 Larelia, and Boldoa, are examples of the order. 



Monkey Flower. See Mimulus. 



Monkey Pot. See Lecythis. 



Monkey Puzzler. A common name for Arait' 

 carta imbricata. 



Monkey's Dinner-Bell. See Hura crepitans. 



Monk's Hood. See Aconitum. 



MON 



Monni'na. Named after Monnino, Count de 

 Flora Blanca, a Spanish promoter of botany. 

 Nat. Ord. Polygalacece. 



A genus of about fifty species of green- 

 house evergreen herbs, shrubs, or small trees, 

 natives of Western America. The flowers 

 have usually a white or yellowish corolla, and 

 blue calycine wings. Few of the species are 

 of any horticultural value. 



Monochae'tum. From monos, one, and chaite, 

 a bi'istle; in allusion to the shape of the con- 

 nective of the stamen. Nat. Ord. Melasto- 

 maceoR. 



A genus of over twenty species, of erect, 

 branched, often tomentose shrubs, natives of 

 the mountains of Peru, New Grenada, Mexico, 

 and Guatemala. They form showy plants, 

 and are of easy culture. 



Monochi'lus. From Monos, one, and cheilos, a 

 lip ; alluding to the form of flower. Nat. Ord. 

 Verhenace/s. 



M. gloxinifolius, the only species introduced 

 from Brazil in 1838 is a vei-j* pretty low-grow- 

 ing stove-house plant, with white flowers, re- 

 markable for the form of its corolla. It is 

 propagated by cuttings. 



Monocotyledons or Endogens. One of the 

 two great classes into which all flowering 

 plants are divided. They are characterized 

 as having the wood of the stem irregularly 

 disposed in longitudinal bundles, not in con- 

 centric laj'ers, and having no defined central 

 pith ; the leaves generally parallel veined ; and 

 the flowers with organs mostly in threes or 

 fours, never in fives ; in grasses, the parts are 

 arranged in twos and threes. The embryo 

 with a single cotyledon ; first formed leaves 

 alternate, the radicle not branching but 

 throwing out adventitious roots. 



Monodo'ra. From monos, one, and dora, a 

 skin ; in allusion to the fruit being one-celled. 

 Nat. Ord. AnonacecE. 



A small genus of plant-stove trees confined 

 to tropical Africa. M. Myristica, or Calabash 

 Nutmeg, the only species yet introduced, has 

 large, variegated, pendulous, sweet-scented 

 flowers, followed by large globose woody fruit, 

 varying in size from that of an orange, to a 

 large melon, containing a number of seeds 

 which abound in an aromatic oil of a nutmeg 

 flavor, and which are commonly called Jamaica 

 or American nutmegs. It was introduced in 

 1843, and is propagated by cuttings of the 

 ripened wood. 



Monoecious. Having male and female organs 

 in different flowers on the same plant. 



Monogra'mnaa. From monos, one, and gramma, 

 a writing ; referring to the spoi'e or seed-cases. 

 Nat. Ord. PolypodiacecB. 



A small genus of very dwarf Ferns from the 

 West Indies, requiring a warm green-house. 



Monogynous. Having but one style, even 

 though many carpels be present. 



Monole'na. From monos, one, and olene, the 

 arm ; alluding to the process or arm from the 

 base of the anther. Nat. Ord. Melastomacece. 



A genus of fleshy, stemless, glabrous plants, 

 with thick rhizomes, natives of Peru and 

 Grenada. M. primulaejlora, the only one yet 

 introduced, is a very handsome species. It 

 has deep, bright, pink flowers with a white 

 eye and yellow anthers, of free growth, and is 



