80 CHAPTER X. 



Many species of Melaleuca are grown here. A 

 specimen, with more stem than foliage, used to stand 

 by itself in the south-west corner of the Jardin Public, 

 Nice ; another in the Lycee gardens is said to be the 

 largest in Europe. A Melaleuca was entrusted to a 

 native gardener. Now the local name for this tree 

 is " Papyrus," that is, " Sedge " ; but a sedge is a 

 water plant ; so this gardener doused and soaked the 

 tree until he killed it. Of the slender evergreen 

 twigs " les fleuristes du littoral font une grande 

 consommation pour la confection des bouquets." 



The flowers appear in the beginning of June. 

 They would be quite insignificant were it not for the 

 branched thread-like petal-opposed stamens, which 

 form an exquisite fringe of filigree. Those plants 

 which have no corolla, or an inconspicuous one, adopt 

 various plans for supplying the defect. The Anemone 

 spreads its painted sepals out as flags ; tue same 

 purpose is served by the gaudy bracts of the 

 Bougainvillea, abundant at Monaco ; whereas the 

 Bottle Brush and the Eucalyptus, like our own 

 Thalictrum, produce a beautiful tassel of tinted 

 stamens. 



Metrosideros, a small Australian tree of the same 

 family, is also cultivated. The leaves are opposite, 

 entire, coriaceous, rather white below. The inflo- 

 rescence resembles a holy water sprinkler. The 

 English name is Bottle Brush. 



Allied to the Myrtle, though not so closely as 

 the trees just mentioned, is the Pomegranate (Punka 

 Gh'anatum) ; mysterious plant, symbol of fertility and 

 plenty. The Hebrew name of the Pomegranate is 

 " Kimmon," which proves that the tree was sacred to 



