AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



403 



Myosotis continued. 



M. alpestrls (alpine).* fl. blue, with a very small yellowish eye, 

 fragrant in the evening. Summer. I. lanceolate or oblong- 

 linear, acutish, obsoletely three-nerved, strigose. Stems tufted, 

 erect, beset with adpressed hairs, simple at bottom, but divided 

 at top into short racemes, h. 2in. to 3in. Mountains of Europe 

 (Britain). Perennial. According to some authorities, this is but 

 a form of M. svlvatica, with larger flowers. SYN. M. rupicola. 

 See Fig. 623. (Sy. En. B. 1106.) 



M. azorica (Azorean).* fl. purple, eventually blue, without a 

 yellow eye, about iin. across, disposed in dense bractless 

 racemes. Summer. L hairy, upper ones oblong-obtuse, lower 

 ones oblong-spathulate. h. 6in. to lOin. Azores, 1846. An 

 elegant but somewhat tender perennial, with a habit similar to 

 M. alpestris, but the flowers are larger, and the fruiting racemes 

 lengthen considerably. (B. M. 4122.) There is a white-flowered 

 form, alba. The garden form of this species known as IM- 

 PERATRICE ELIZABETH forms a branching bush about 6in. in 

 height, and, when covered with its numerous heads of bluish- 

 purple flowers, is a gem for pots or shady nooks in the rockery. 



M. dissitiflora (distant-flowered).* fl. deep sky-blue, large, 

 numerous. Very early spring. I. oblong-lanceolate, gradually 

 pointed, h. 6in. to 12in. Switzerland, 1868. Perennial. A 

 handsome species, closely allied to M. sylvatica, but differing in 

 its shorter, more adpressed pubescence, brighter green leaves, 

 and relatively longer pedicels, which curve upwards and inwards 

 when in fruit. The most distinctive character, however, which 

 separates M . dissitiflora and M. sylvatica resides in the nutlets 

 (the so-called seeds), which are stalked in the former and stalk- 

 * sss in the latter. 



FIG. 624. MYOSOTIS DISSITJFLORA ELEGANTISSIMA. 



M. d. elegantissima (very elegant). A pretty variety, with 



white-edged leaves. See Fig. 624. 

 M. macrophylla. See Anchusa myosotidiflora. 

 M. obtusum. See Anchusa Barrclicri. 

 M. palustrls (marsh).* True Forget-me-not, fl. blue, with a 

 yellow throat ; racemes simple or conjugate, bractless. Spring. 

 t. oblong or spathulate, upper ones slightly ctecurrent, all bright 

 glossy green. Stems creeping at the base, clothed with adpressed 

 hairs, h. 6in. to 12in. Europe, &c. (Britain). A well-known 

 and very lovely native perennial. (Sy. En. B. 1104.) 

 M. rupicola (rock-loving). A synonym of M. alpestris. 

 M. suaveolens (sweet-scented), fl. white or bluish, in simple or 

 branched racemes, at first dense, at length several inches long ; 

 the pedicels short. I. oblong-linear or lanceolate, mostly acute, 

 sessile, and broad at the base, or contracted into a short petiole, 

 often decurrent ; the lower ones sometimes Sin. to 4in. long, the 

 upper ones small. Australia. An erect, but sometimes weak 

 perennial. 



M. sylvatica (wood).* fl. blue, with a yellow throat ; racemes 

 solitary and conjugate, very long, loose, bractless ; pedicels much 

 longer than the calyx. Spring. 1. oblong-lanceolate, bluntish, 

 clothed with soft hairs. Stems simple, divided at top into long 

 loose racemes, hairy, A. 1ft. to 2ft. Europe, Ac. (Britain). 

 A handsome biennial or perennial species, of which there are 

 numerous varieties. (Sy. En. B. 1107.) 

 M. vlrglnica. See Echinospermum virginicum. 



MYRCIA (a mythological name). OBD. Myrtacece. A 

 very large genus (some 500 species have been described, 

 but the number may probably be reduced to about 300) 

 of stove ; trees or shrubs, all natives of tropical and 

 sub-tropical America. Flowers often small; peduncles 

 axillary, sub-terminal, many or rarely few-flowered ; calyx 

 limb segments and petals five, rarely four or three. 



Myrcia continued. 



Leaves opposite, penniveined. The species are not much 



seen in cultivation ; the under-mentioned is, perhaps, the 



best for horticultural purposes. It thrives in a compost 



of sandy peat and fibry loam. Propagated, in May, by 



cuttings of young shoots, rather firm at the base, inserted 



in sand, under a bell glass, in gentle bottom heat. 



M. acris (sharp). A synonym of Pimento, acris. 



M. amplexicaulis (stem-clasping), fl. white, fascicled on the 



branches, sessile, Jin. in diameter ; panicles downy, from the 



upper axils, 6in. to lOin. long. I. opposite, sessile, lOin. to 16in. 



long, narrow-oblong or linear-oblong, acuminate, downy on both 



surfaces, reticulated above ; lateral nerves below numerous, very 



divergent, elevated. Branches strict, erect, terete, stout ; 



branchlets as thick as a goose-quill, h. 5ft. Rio de Janeiro, 



1869. A very handsome shrub. (B. M. 5790.) 



MYRIAPODA. An order of Articulata, or jointed 

 animals, greatly resembling insects in being made up of 

 horny rings (chitine), held together by soft membranes 

 between them, as well as in breathing by air tubes 

 (tracheae) branching all through the body and opening 

 on its surface by little mouths (spiracles), across each 

 of which lies a structure like a sieve, that prevents the 

 entrance of dust with the air. These animals also agree 

 with insects in the general structure of the internal 

 organs ; in having a distinct head with one 

 pair of antennae or feelers, and simple eyes, 

 usually in a group on each side, and legs 

 made up of several distinct joints. They differ 

 from insects in having no well-defined thorax, 

 in the rings of the body being very numerous, 

 and in their numerous pairs of legs, whence 

 the popular names of Centipede and Millipede. 

 The eggs are laid in the localities frequented by 

 the animals, such as below stones, dead leaves, 

 &c. The young ones, on emerging from the 

 eggs, have only three pairs of true legs; but, 

 at each change of skin during their growth, 

 the number of the legs increases, as does also 

 the number of simple eyes. Hence, till ma- 

 turity is reached, the numbers of legs and 

 eyes are too variable with age to permit of 

 laying much stress upon them in determining 

 species. Myriapoda usually feed upon in- 

 sects, or upon plants; most frequently they 

 feed on decaying parts of plants, but a few 

 also attack living cultivated plants, and injure 

 them considerably. They belong chiefly to two great 

 groups, the Centipedes (Chilopoda) and the Millipedes 

 (Chilognatha), and may be readily distinguished from one 

 another by the following characters. 



Centipedes have, for the most part, flattened depressed 

 bodies, with only one pair of legs on each ring of the 

 body. The lower surface of each ring is formed by a 

 flat plate, which keeps the legs apart, so that they 

 are seen projecting beyond the sides of the rings when 

 the animals are crawling. The last pair of legs is 

 longer and stronger than the others, and projects back- 

 wards. The front pair is modified to form two taper- 

 ing, sharp-pointed, jaw-like organs, which can be made 

 to pierce the skin of the animals that serve as food. 

 Each of these organs is traversed by a tube that conveys 

 poison from a gland near the head into the wound in 

 the bodies of the prey, or those of assailants if being 

 used in self-defence. Our native species are all of small 

 size (Jin. to Sin. long, and quite slender), but many 

 tropical species are from 6in. to 12in. long, and give 

 a very painful or even dangerous bite. Centipedes mostly 

 feed on insects, or on others of the lower animals ; 

 hence, they are beneficial to gardeners. They are often 

 met with in digging gardens. One kind (Scolopendra 

 electricus, or Geophilus longicornis), sparingly met with 

 in England, has the power of emitting a feeble light 

 at times. 



The Millipedes (Chilognatha) are easily recognised by 

 their legs being more numerous than those of Centipedes, 



