AND GENERAL HORTICULTUEE. 



259 



MOR 



More'nia. In honor of M. Moreno. Nat. Ord. 

 PalmacecB. 



A small genus of hot-house Palms from 

 Peru, requiring the same treatment as the 

 Chamcedorea, to which genus they are closely 

 allied. 



Morica'ndia. Named after M. E. Moricand, an 

 Italian botanist, author of "Flora Veneta." 

 Nat. Ord. CrucifercB. 



A genus of very pretty hardy annual or 

 biennial herbs, natives of southern Europe, 

 northern Africa and western Asia, with beauti- 

 ful large rosy-purple or violet-colored flowers. 

 Propagated by seeds, sown in spring in a 

 warm dry situation out of doors. 



Mori'na. Named after L. Morin, a French 

 botanist. Nat. Ord. Dipsacaceoe,. 



A small genus of hardy herbaceous per- 

 ennials. M. longifolia, a native of the moun- 

 tains of the north of India, is a showy plant, 

 growing two or three feet high and flowering 

 freely from July until October. Its habit of 

 growth resembles the Acanthics; the flowers 

 resemble those of the Verbena, only they are 

 larger, and produced in whorls around the 

 stem. The general appearance of the plant is 

 weedy. 



Mori'nda. From mortis, a Mulberry, and 

 Indica, Indian ; Indian Mulberry. Nat. Ord. 

 Rubiacece. 



A genus of about forty species of erect or 

 scandent glabrous shrubs, or trees, all 

 natives of the tropics, M. tinctoria has pure 

 white flowers with a Jasmine-like fragrance ; 

 the bark of the root gives a rich red dye. 



Mori'nga. Horse-radish Tree. From moringo, 

 the Indian name. Nat. Ord. Moringaceoe. 



The three species that compose this genus 

 are green-house evergreens from north Africa, 

 western Asia, and the East Indies. The 

 root of one of the species, M. pterygosperma, is 

 pungent and stimulant, and is used by the 

 natives for Horse-radish. The fruit of this 

 species is called Ben Nuts, from which is ex- 

 tracted a fluid oil, called Oil of Ben, used by 

 watchmakers. 



Moringa'ceae. This natural order contains but 

 a single genus, Moringa, which see. 



Moriso'nia. Named after Robert Morison of 

 Aberdeen, Professor of botany at Oxford in 

 1683. Nat. Ord. CapparidacecE. 



A genus of four species of West Indian and 

 South American trees, with white axillarj' flow- 

 ers and succulent fruit. M. Americana, proba- 

 bly the only species in cultivation, is of easy 

 culture and is propagated by cuttings of the 

 ripened shoots in sand ; introduced from the 

 West Indies in 1824. 



Mormo'des. From viorino, a goblin ; referring 

 to the strange appearance of the flowers. 

 Nat. Ord. Orchidacem. 



A small genus of epiphytal Orchids, with 

 dark purple, curiously shaped flowers, from 

 Mexico. They are rarely met under culti- 

 vation and when grown it is more for their 

 singularity than their beautj'. 



Mo'rna. Named after Morna, one of Ossian's 

 heroines. Nat. Ord. Coinposita;. 



This is a small genus of beautiful half-hardj' 

 annuals, with yellow and white everlasting 

 flowers, allied to Helichrysum ; introduced 

 from Swan River in 1835. They should be 

 started in a hot-bed, and planted out in May. 



MOS 



Morning Glory. See Ipomcea. 



Morono'bea. From Moronobo or Coronobo, the 

 Carribean name of M. coccinea. Nat. Ord. 

 Guttiferce. 



A small genus of large, slender-stemmed 

 trees natives of the West Indies, Guiana and 

 Brazil. M. coccinea, the Hog Gum-Tree has 

 large, white, terminal, solitary flowers, and is 

 valuable for a fluid pellucid juice which issues 

 fi-om incisions in the trunk and which hardens 

 into a valuable medicinal resin. It is said 

 that in Jamaica, hogs when injured rub them- 

 selves against the tree in order to become 

 smeared with the juice, hence the common 

 name. 



Morphology. That department of botany which 

 treats of the forms and modiflcations of the 

 organs of the plants. 



Mo'nis. Mulberry. From mor, the Celtic for 

 black; referring to the color of the fruit. Nat. 

 Ord. Urticacece. 



The species of the Mulberry grow from ten 

 to forty feet high, and are more celebrated as 

 aff'ording leaves upon which the Silk-worm 

 feeds than for their fruit, which is, however, 

 of a very grateful quality. M. rubra, the Red 

 Mulberry, is very common throughout the 

 United States, and produces the best fruit 

 of any of the species. Charles Downing raised 

 a seedling from M. alba multicaulis, which is 

 called "Everbearing," and justly so, as it 

 ripens its fruit earlier than any of the species, 

 and keeps in bearing later. M. nigra, the 

 Black Mulberry, is the species that was 

 formerly cultivated for its fruit, and was an 

 object of much attention at a very eai-ly 

 period in the western parts of Asia and Europe. 

 The care bestowed upon it must have been 

 solely on account of its fruit ; for the know- 

 ledge of the mode of rearing silk-worms was 

 confined to the people of central and southern 

 Asia till the sixth century. It is mentioned 

 in the Psalms that the wrath of the Almighty 

 destroyed the "Mulberry trees with frost," 

 and this must have been recorded as a 

 remarkable instance ofthe Divine displeasure ; 

 for the Mulberry is universally known not to 

 put forth its buds and leaves till the season is 

 so far advanced that, in the ordinary course 

 of events, all dangers from the frost are past. 

 We also read in the Bible that " David came 

 upon the Philistines, and smote them over 

 against the Mulberry trees." This species is 

 found wild in the chains of the Caucasus and 

 adjoining mountains, and also in Persia and 

 Asia Minor. M. alba, the White Mulberry, is a 

 native of China, and, with its varieties, is culti- 

 vated for food for the Silk-worm. Of all the 

 varieties, AI. albamidticaulis, is considered the 

 best, and is the most grown in silk-producing 

 countries. It was this variety that created such 

 a mania in the United States about fifty years 

 ago, when it was asserted that silk was soon to 

 take the place of cotton, and that in all the 

 Middle States it could be profitably produced. 

 It is now largely grown in California for rais- 

 ing the Silk-worm. 



Mosch'aria. From moschos, musk ; a musk- 

 smelling plant. Nat. Ord. Compositte. 



A half-hardy annual from Chili, interesting 

 only for the fragrance of the plant ; the flow- 

 ers are white, but of little merit. 



Moschatus. Possessing the odor of musk. 



