MKLARTOMACRS. 



MKLICA. 



7M 



dages, both decidnoiu ; tb petals 6-(l ; the nUtncnn twice the number 

 of the prUlu ; the anthem oblong linear, little arched, opening by a 

 pon at the apex, each furniihed with * stipe-formed connective, which 

 is in some specie* elongated and in other* abort, but always biauricu- 

 Ut or emarginate in front; the fine part of the orarium conical and 

 brintly : the style filiform, somewhat thickened at the apex ; the 

 tigma a pruinoae dot ; the capsule baccate, 5-$-oelled, opening irre- 

 gularly ; the seeds cochleate. The species of this genu* are shrub*, 

 which are usually covered with strigx. The leaves are petiolate, and 

 cither quite entire or serrulaU-J. The flower* are Urge, white, rose- 

 colour**!, or purple. 



If. MaJakalliricum, Malabar Melastoma, ii a shrubby plant with 

 tetragonal branches rough from strigto; the leaves elliptic-oblong, 

 obtuse at the base, acute at the apex, quite entire, green on both sur- 

 face*, and scabrous from strigte ; the corymbs 1-5-flowered ; the calyx 

 clothed with adpreosed strigose scales, with ovate acute lobes ; the 

 connectives of the anthers short, or very long. It is a native of the 

 East Indies, and frequent in the Indian Archipelago. The loaves of 

 this plant are employed by the natives where it grows as a remedy in 

 diarrhoea, dysentery, and mucous discharges. 



Between 30 and 40 species of Mclfuioma. have been described. They 

 grow in the warmer districts of the Old and New World, and are 

 found in South America, Asia, and Africa. Their flowers are very 

 handsome, and all the species may be cultivated for ornament. They 

 grow well in a mixture of loam, peat, and sand, and young cuttings 

 root freely in sand in heat under a hand-glass. 



ll.indU-y. VtgttaHe Kingdom ; Von, IticUanydcout I'lanti.) 



MKLATOMA'C&, Meiatlomtult, an extensive natural order of 

 Polypetalous Exogenous Plants, nearly related to Myrlacea. They 

 have opposite ribbed leaves without any trace of dots ; anthers pro- 

 longed into a beak, and having in the bud their points curved down- 

 wards, and inserted into sockets between the side of the ovary and 

 that of the calyx ; the ovary itself is many-celled and many-seeded, 

 and connected with the calyx by vertical plates, which form the par- 

 titions between the sockets in which the anthers ore confined. The 

 species are extremely numerous in tropical countries, where they 

 usually form bushes or small trees, and are scarcely known beyond 

 the tropics, with the exception of some Rhexias, which straggle into 

 North America. In Europe the order is unknown, unless in gardens, 

 where many species are cultivated for the sake of their gay purple 

 or white flower*. Some of the species bear berries, which are eatable, 

 and stain the mouth a deep purple, whence their name Mtlattoma, or 

 black-mouth. Others arc slightly astringent; some yield dyes and 

 edible fruits : none arc poisonous. 



1, s braiwh of JrA/jV<i tffeiau ; 1, a vertical Kctlon of the flower ; S, a 

 ralvx ; 4, a tnnivrrie section of the orarr. 



MKI.EAORIXA. [AviruLA; MAILKACK*] 



M r.l.KACIMS, the specific name of a species of Acontia (Cuvier), a 

 grnius of Snake*, described in the article ACOXTIAS. By an error in 

 the ' Rcgne Animal ' a wrong figure is given : the species to which 

 Curier refers in 'Seba' is the one given at the top of next column. 



MKI.KACUIS. IPAVOXID*.] 



MKI.KS. rBAMtk] 



M K I.I A (Zoology), Latreillo's name for a genus of Cnutaetn (Lylria 

 nt Milne Kdwi.rda, who ban since withdrawn the name in favour of 

 IMreille's prior I>|.|M IUti..n). This form approximates to i'ilumntu, 

 bat has also some analogy with 



lifl llrlrufril. 



Af. tttteUala: Colour whitish, with red line?. Some hairs on the 

 feet Length nbout five lines. 



It inhabits the island of Mauritius. 



Mrlia Irttrlala. 



ME'T.IA (so called from Mt\la, the Greek name of the Common 

 Ash, which one species of the genus Li thought to resemble in foliage), 

 a genus of Plants belonging to the natural order Mrliiweir, to which 

 it has given its name, and which is, like Mdia, characterised by having 

 the filaments of the anthers combined into a tube, with the anthers 

 sessile within it, and opening inwards ; the seeds without wings. The 

 species are few in number, and chiefly Indian ; one is naturalised in 

 the south of Europe, and one is found in North America. 



1, TrtMHa iimiilioiJri ; 1, an expanded flower ; 3, a ripe fruit ; 4, a traiu- 

 verne ncclion of the tame. 



M. Azadirathta, the Neem-Tree or Margosa-Tree of the peninsula of 

 India, has been separated into a distinct genus on account chiefly of 

 it* ternary, not quinary, structure of the parts of the pistil, and its 

 single-seeded fruit. Ibis hss been named Azadirachla from the 

 Persian (Azad-i- 1 lurukht, ' the excellent tree '). Its bark in bitter, and 

 considered a valuable tonic. The fleshy part of the fruit (like that of 

 the olive) yields a 'fixed oil, which is bitter, anil considered anthel- 

 mintic and stimulant The leaves are universally used in India for 

 poultices, and both the flowers and seeds are irritating and stimulant. 

 According to Dr. Ainilie a kind of toddy is procured by fermenting 

 the sap of healthy young margosa-trces. 



M. Audarat, sometimes called Persian Lilac, Pride of India, and 

 Common Bead-Tree (Hill Margosa by Dr. Ainslie), is said by Dr. Rox- 

 burgh to bo a native of China; it is also a native of the north of 

 India. It is much cultivated in the southern parts of the United 

 Status of America. It is called Dek in tho northern provinces of 

 India, and may be confounded with another species under th<> name 

 Aztdarach by Avicenuo, When in flower it has some resemblance to 



