244 Key to the System of 



IKEX.AZ.EUCA. 



1123. Filaments crimson or purplish or lilac-colored ... 1124 



Filaments whitish or yellowish ... 1128 



1124. Leaves scattered. 



From dwarf to rather tall, much beset with soft hairlets ; 

 leaves small, spreading, from ovate- to linear-lanceolar, 

 gradually pointed, lined by three longitudinal venules ; 

 lowers in terminal or infra- terminal headlets ; lobes of 

 the calyx deciduous ; connate part of stamens very short ; 

 filaments purplish or occasionally white ; fruits globular- 

 ovate, truncate. M. squamea. 



Leaves opposite ~. 1125 



1125. Leaves narrow in proportion to their length. 



Hardly tall, soon glabrous ; leaves small, with broadish 

 base, sessile, mostly lanceolar-linear ; flowers few or two 

 or even solitary in each axil or forming leafy headlets ; 

 lobes of the calyx short, persistent ; connate parts of the 

 stamens about twice as long as the petals ; filaments red, 

 f ascicularly emanating ; fruits nearly semi-ovate, emersed. 

 Figure 57. M. Wilsoni. 



Leaves broad in proportion to their length ... ... 1126 



1126. Stamens elongated. 



Tall-shrubby, glabrous ; leaves rather large, from lanceolar- 

 to ovate -elliptical, flat or at the margin recurved; carinular 

 venule prominent; flowers large, in infra- terminal spikes; 

 connate parts of the stamens much longer than the petals; 

 filaments crimson, elongated, f ascicularly emanating ; 

 fruits emersed. M. hypericif olia. 



Stamens abbreviated ... ... ... ... ... 1127 



1127. Leaves from oval to obovate. 



Tall-shrubby, glabrous ; leaves quite small, spreading, from 

 elliptic to obovate, inflexed at the margin ; flowers small, 

 in headlets or short spikes, often infra-terminal ; connate 

 parts of stamens very short ; filaments lilac -purplish ; 

 fruits much sunk into the branchlets. M. gibbosa. 



Leaves from narrow-elliptical to broad-linear. 



Tall-shrubby or arborescent, glabrous; leaves small, spread- 

 ing, in four particularly close rows, at the margin 

 inflexed ; flowers small, in headlets or short spikes, often 

 infra-terminal ; connate parts of stamens very short ; 

 filaments lilac-purplish ; fruits much sunk into the 

 branchlets. M. decussata. 



