M A R 



M A S 



The first is a handsome large plant, two feet 

 high, straight, with large I .scid, from 



small, slender, simple, white, villose hairs, 



of which ha* a pellucid clammy globule at the 

 top : the stem single, round, reddish green : 

 the branches several, brachiate, dichotomous : 



the root-leaves none : the stem-leaves opposite, 

 angular, with teeth remote by a long sinus, 

 • d, green, white from the closeness of the 

 villcse hairs, veined; the largest six inches long: 

 petioles on the stem horizontal, on the branches 

 spreading, the same length with the leaf: the 

 flowers several, on short peduncles, hanging 

 down, so that the throat is turned towards the 

 ground, disposed in a thyrse in the forks of 

 the branches, two inches and a half long. It 

 is a native of La Vera Cruz, in New Spain. 



The second species is a large plant, two feet 

 high, flexuose, herbaceous, villose, viscid : the 

 stem single, round, pale green: the branches 

 several, scattered, resembliug the stem : the root- 

 leaves none : the stem-leaves opposite and al- 

 emate, stiffish, waved, veined, yellowish green, 

 five inches long: the petioles horizontal, slight- 

 ly channelled above, the length of the leaf: 

 the flowers several, peduncled in a loose thyrse 

 in the forks of the branches, two inches long. 

 It is a native of America, flowering from June 

 to August. 



The third has a perennial root, thick, fleshy, 

 divided into scalv knots, somewhat like those of 

 Tooth-wort: the stems annual, about a foot 

 high, thick, succulent, purplish : the leaves are 

 oblong, thick, sessile, rough, and of a dark 

 green^on their upper-side, but purplish under- 

 neath : the stem is terminated by a short spike 

 of blue bell-shaped flowers, not spreading open 

 so much at the rim as in the first sort. It is a 

 native of Carthagena, in New Spain. 



Culture. — The" two first sorts may be in- 

 creased by sowing the seeds in pots filled with 

 light rich mould, in the spring, plunging them 

 in a bark hot-bed, giving water frequently. 

 When the plants have^attained a little growth, 

 they should be removed into separate pots of 

 the same sort of earth, replunging them in the 

 bark bed, giving due water and shade, till they 

 become properly rooted, when they must have 

 free air in fine weather: after they are a little 

 advanced in their growth, they should be re- 

 moved into larger "pots, and be replaced in the 

 bark bed in the stove, due room being allowed 

 them. They should be constantly kept in this 

 situation, and be duly watered and supplied 

 with fresh air in warm weather. 



The third sort may be raised by dividing the 

 roots, and planting them in the spring about the 

 middle of March, in pots of light rich earth, 



and plunged in the bark-bed of th 

 When the plants are up, they should be duly 

 watered in a slight manner, and in warm \ 

 ther fresh air be freely admitted, keening them 

 from being shaded by oilier plan . 



The cuttings of the shoots of the young 

 stems 'planted in pots, and managed in theab 

 manner, will also take root and form plants. 



They afford ornament and variety among other 

 stove plants. 



MARVEL OF PERU. See Mirabilis. 



IWARYGOLD. See Calbndula. 



MASSONIA, a genus containing plants of 

 the herbaceous bulbous-rooted flowery perennial 

 kind. 



It belongs to the class and order Hexandria 

 Monogynia, and ranks in the natural order of 

 Coroiuirhc. 



The characters are : that there is no calvx : 

 the corolla has six lanceolate petals, spreading, 

 upright, placed externally on the nectary, which 

 is inferior, cylindrical, membranaceous, six- 

 streaked, six-toothed : the stamina six, filiform, 

 incurved, a little longer than the petals, inserted 

 into the teeth of the nectary : anthers ovate, 

 upright, yellow: the pistillum is a superior germ 

 (in lespect of the nectary) : style awl-shaped, 

 declining, the length of the stamens: stigma 

 simple, acute : the pericarpium is a three-sided 

 capsule, thickening above, obtuse, smooth, 

 three-celled, three-valved, opening longitudi- 

 nally at the corners : the seeds very many, an- 

 gular-globular, and smooth. 



The species cultivated are : ] . M. hit'ifol'ia, 

 Broad-leaved Massonia ; -2. JSI. angustifblia, 

 Narrow-leaved Massonia. 



The first has the leaves next the root, one pair, 

 smooth and even : the flowers aggregate, sessile, 

 without any scape : the fruit not berried, but a 

 membranaceous capsule ; in which it differs from 

 Hsemanthus. It is a native of the Cape, flower- 

 ing in March and April. 



The second species has the same structure ; 

 but the. leaves are narrow, of an oblong-lanceo- 

 late form, and the segments of the corolla bent 

 back at the end ; whereas in the first they spread 

 straight out. It is a native of the Cape, flower- 

 ing in March and April. 



Culture. — They may be increased by planting 

 the off-sets from the roots, when the leaves drop 

 off, in pots of sandy earth, plunging them in a 

 hot-bed in the stove. 



They are likewise capable of being raised from 

 seeds sown in pots of the same sort of earth, 

 plunging them in a hot-bed. 



The plants should afterwards have a free air 

 in the green-house, where they must be kept. 



They afford variety in these collections. 



