404 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Myriapoda continued. 



each of the rings behind the three that immediately 

 follow the head seeming 1 to bear two pairs. The legs are 

 also inserted close to the middle line below, and are too 

 short to project beyond the sides of the body when the 

 animal is walking. The body is usually nearly cylindrical, 

 less often depressed. This group possess no poison fangs. 

 For further particulars regarding these animals and their 

 relation to horticulture, see Millipedes. 



MYRICA (from Myrike, the old Greek name, used 

 by Homer, for the Tamarisk). Candleberry Myrtle. The 



Myrica continued. 



increased by seeds, sown as soon as ripe; by layers, by 

 cuttings, or by divisions. 

 M. californica (Californian). /. greenish, monoecious, fr. 



Eurple, papillose, thinly coated with greyish-white wax. 

 oblanceolate, thick, slightly tomentose below, 2in. to 4in. long, 

 acute. A hardy evergreen shrub ; in a wild state, it sometimes 

 attains a height of 30ft. to 40ft. See Fig. 625. 

 M. cerifera (wax-bearing). Common Candleberry Myrtle, fl. red- 

 dish. May. I. lanceolate, pointed, serrated, flat, shining. A. 5ft. 

 to 12ft. Canada, 1699. A small, hardy, evergreen shrub. 

 M. Gale (Gale). Sweet Gale. fl. brownish-green. February and 

 March. I. lanceolate, serrated, tapering and entire at the base. 



FIG. 625. FLOWERING BRANCH OF MYRICA CALIFORNICA, 



only genus of ORD. Myricacece (which see for 

 racters). Myricas thrive in moist and sandy peat. 



cha- 

 The 



Fio 626. FLOWERING BRANCH OF MYRICA GALE. 

 greenhouse species are propagated by cuttings, taken 

 during spring or autumn, and inserted under a hand 

 glass, in a shady situation. The hardy ones may be 



Europe (Britain), North Asia, and North America. 

 hardy, deciduous shrub. See Fig. 626. 



h. 2ft. to 4ft. 



A dwarf, fragrant, 



(Sy. En. B. 1248.) 

 M. Nagl (Nagi). fl. greenish, fr. edible, deep red-purple, 



oblong or globose, studded with mamillary tubercles, and with a 



juicy acid flesh of soft radir.ting fibres. I. cuneate-lanceolate, 



serrated above the middle. China and Japan, 1868. Greenhouse 



shrub or small tree. (B. M. 5727.) 

 M. quercifolia (Oak-leaved). /.greenish. June. I. rigid, coria- 



ceous, oblong, cuneate at the base, with sinuated margins. 



h. 3ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1752. Greenhouse evergreen shrub. 



MYRICACE2E. A natural order of trees or shrubs, 

 often aromatic, widely dispersed over Europe, temperate 

 and tropical Asia, South Africa, and North America, 

 often abounding in dots and glands filled with aromatic 

 secretions. Flowers unisexual ; males in cylindrical 

 sessile catkins ; females in ovate sessile catkins, with 

 closely imbricated bracts. Fruit a globose or ovoid 

 drupe, often covered with waxy papillae. Leaves ever- 

 green or deciduous, alternate, penniveined, entire, serrate, 

 irregularly dentate or lobed or regularly pinnatifid, with 

 a single exception exstipulate. The bark of several My- 

 ricacece contains a resinous substance, which gives it 

 astringent tonic properties ; wax, benzoic acid, and tannin, 

 are also yielded. The order contains but one genus 

 Myrica and about thirty-five species. 



MYRICARIA (a Latinised form of Myrike, the old 

 Greek name, used by Homer, for the Tamarisk, to which 

 the present genus is nearly allied). OKD. Tamariscineai. 

 A genus of about four species of hardy deciduous shrubs or 

 sub-shrubs, natives of Europe and Central Asia. Flowers 

 rose or white, in long, terminal, spike-like racemes ; 

 stamens ten, style absent, stigma capitate. Leaves small, 

 Heath-like. Myricarias thrive in sandy spots, but hardly 

 seem particular to soil. Propagated by seeds, sown in 

 spring, in the open air ; or from cuttings of firm young 

 wood. The only species worth mentioning here is the 

 following : 



M. germanica (German), fl. white or rose-tinted, stalked, In 

 spike-like racemes, attenuated above, lax below ; petals lanceo- 

 late, acute. Summer. 1. glaueescent, linear, obtuse, punctate. 

 Stem woody, erect, much-branched ; branches rigid, erect, slightly- 

 angular. h. 3ft. to 6ft. Europe, Asia, 1582. (B. F. F. 8.) 



