292 BRECK'S NEW BOOK OF FLOWERS. 



fresh wound. The fruit here is not picked until ripe, and 

 then preserved in spirits. An annual, native of India ; a 

 climber, four feet high ; flowers yellow, in July and Au- 

 gust ; time of planting in May. 



M. charantia. Balsam Pear. Like the last a tender 

 annual, the same height and color of flower ; growth and 

 habits the same. Both species must be supported with 

 brush four feet high. The fruit of this is pear-shaped, oth- 

 erwise somewhat similar to the first described species. 



MONARDA. HORSE MINT. 



[In honor of Monardes, a Spanish botanist of the 16th century.) 



Monarda didyma, Oswego Tea. A perennial, native 

 of North America. A well-known garden plant, three 

 feet high, with brilliant scarlet flowers; from June to 

 August. Its familiar names are Red Balm, Crimson Balm, 

 or Bergamot. The leaves are sometimes used as a substi- 

 tute for tea. M. fistulosa, has light-purple flowers, and 

 not so handsome as M. didyma^ but possess the same 

 properties. There are also many other species, which, in 

 large collections, would be interesting. 



MTTSCABZ GRAPE HYACINTH. 



[From moschos, musk, on account of the odor of the flowers., 



Muscari moschatum. Grape Hyacinth. Is a pretty, 

 hardy, bulbous-rooted plant, with dark, light-blue or 

 white flowers, having a strong smell of musk. 



M. eomosum, in a variety called monstrosum, is the 

 Feathered Hyacinth, a most ornamental, hardy border- 

 flower ; the bulb is large, ovate and solid ; the leaves nar- 

 row, a foot long, with obtuse points ; the flower-stalks rise 



