MENTZELIA 



MERTENSIA 



1005 



MENTZfiLIA (Mentzel. an early German botanist). 

 Jjni!S')i-r if . A!)uut 50 species of erect, sometimes woody 

 hfilis, 1-r. ft. lii;;U,manynativesof North America. Lvs. 

 alternate, mostly coarsely toothed or pinnatifid: fls. soli- 

 tary or in cymes, white, yellowish, yellow or red; petals 

 5 or 10, regularly spreading, convolute in the bud de 

 ciduous ; stamens indefinite, rarely few, inserted with 

 the petals on the throat of the calyx: seeds flat. 

 They thrive in sunny, moist or dry situations 

 sheltered from strong winds. J/. Lindleyl, from r 



Calif., is common in eastern gardens, where it is 

 known as Bartonia attrea; the other species are 

 offered by western dealers, but are not generally 

 in cult. They flower in summer. Although M. 

 LiiKlh'jii has long been a rather common plant in 

 cultivation, it is little known in the wild, being 

 probably a native of central Calif. The seeds 

 should be sown where the plants are to remain, as 

 they do not bear transplanting. 



A. Color of fls. yellow. 

 B. J^ls. opening in hright sunshine, 

 c. Petals 1 in, long, 

 Lindleyi, Torr. & Gray [Bartbnia aitrea, 

 Liudl.l. Pig. 1393. Annual: stem 1-3 ft. high, 

 branched and straggling: lvs. 2-3 in. long: fls. 

 about 2*2 in. across, bright yellow, very fra- 

 grant in the evening, bracted; petals 5, broadly 

 obovate, nearly as broad as long, rounded at the 

 apes except an abrupt short point. Probablv cen- 

 tral Calif. B.M.3649. B.R. 22:1831. 



CC. Petals Z-SVi in. long. 



laevicaiilis, Torr. & Gray. Biennial: stem 2-3 



ft. high: lvs. 2-8 In. long: fls. yellow, 2H-3 in. 



across, l)ractless; petals lanceolate, acuminate. 



Neb. to Calif. B.B. 2:459. 



BB. J'^ls. opening towards night. 

 ntida, Torr. & Gray. Biennial: stem somewhat 

 slender, 1-5 ft. high: lvs. 1-3 in. long: fls. creamy 

 white. 1 '2-2*-. in. across, usually bractless; petals 

 10. Dakota to Kans., Colo, and Tex. B.M. 5483 (as Bai 

 tonia niula). B.B.2:458. 



AA. Color of fls. pure white. 

 om&ta, Torr. & Gray. Annual: stem 2 ft. and more: 

 lvs. 2-0 in. long: fls. 5 in. across, opening towards night, 

 fragrant, usnallv bracted; petals 10; stamens 200-300. 

 Dakota and Mont, to Tex. R.H. 1878:430. B.M. 1487 (as 

 Bartonia dei.apetala\ B.B. 2: 459. 



M. B. CouLSTON and W. M. 



MENYANTHES (Greek, men, a month, and antJios, 

 flower; perhaps because it flowers for about a month). 

 Gentiamleea. Buckbean. A genus of 2 species of 

 small perennial bog plants with creeping rootstocks and 

 small, 5-lobed white or purplish fls. borne in late spring. 

 They are procurable from dealers in native plants. The 

 genus is one of the few aquatic groups in the gentian 

 family. It is allied to Limnanthemum, but the fls. of 

 the latter are not bearded or crested on the face as they 

 are in Menyanthes. Lvs. all alternate, stalked : corolla 

 somewhat funnel- or bell-shaped; stamens inserted on 

 the tube of the corolla; hypogynous glands 5 : style long. 



trifoliita, Linn. Buckbean. About 9-18 in. high: 

 Ifts. 3, oval or oblong-obovate, 1-1 >2 in. long: raceme 

 about 12-fld. Bogs.north temperate regions. B.B. 2:622. 

 V. 2:198 and 3:208. — The lvs. are said to be used in Ger- 

 many as a substitute for hops in beer-making. A very 

 interesting bog plant. 



MERCURY. Chenopodium Boniis-Henrieus. 



M£BEND£RA (from quita meriendas, Spanish name 

 of Cnlvliiinii antutiniale; some of these plants formerly 

 considcreil to lit-long to Colchicum). Lili(ieea>. About 

 10 species of bulbous plants, mostly natives of the Medi- 

 terranean region and Asia Minor. They belong to the 

 same tribe with Colchicum and Bulbocodium, but Colchi- 

 cum has a real corolla tube, while the other two genera 

 have 6 very long-clawed segments which are merely con- 



nivent, forming a loose tube at first and afterwards 

 separating. In Merendera there are 3 styles which are 

 distinct from the base, while in Bulbocodium the style 

 is 3-cut only at the apex. Merenderas are low, steraless 

 plants with tunicated corms : lvs. linear, appearing with 

 the fls fls 1 1 appearmg m sprmg or fall raostl\ lilac 

 ooltic 1 Ihc „ 1 I 1 lulled by Baker (Jour Lmn 



M 



^4\i-^ 



1393 MentzeUa Lindleyi (X*i) 



"^oc 17 438 1880) into two groups based on the anthers. 

 The 2 species described below belong to the group with 

 small, oblong, versatile anthers, which are fastened at 

 the middle rather than the base. They are hardy spring- 

 blooming plants with about 3 lvs., and fls. 1-1 J^ in. 

 across. These rare plants are procurable from Dutch 

 bulb-growers. They are pretty, small-fld., early-bloom- 

 ing, hardy, fragile plants which persist well under good 

 garden cultivation. 



A. Blade of petals ohlanceolate, obtuse. 

 Cauc&sica, Bieb. The 3 outer corolla segments appen- 

 dagedoneach side at the .junction of blade and claw; new 

 corms sessile. Caucasus, Persia. B.M, 3690. 



AA. Blade of petals lanceolate, acute. 



BoboUfera, Fisch. & Mey. Segment.s not appendaged: 

 a very small new corm produced at the apex of a shoot. 

 Asia Minor, Persia. 



M. Huthniica is advertised by Van Tubergen. 



J. N. Gekard and W. M. 



MEBTfiNSIA (after Mertens, a German botanist). 

 Borragindcece. About 15 species of perennial herbs, 

 natives of the north temperate zone, the most popular 

 of which is M. pulmonarioides, better known as 31, Vir- 

 ginica, Virginia Cowslip, Blue Bells, and Virginia Lung- 

 wort. This grows 1-2 ft. high and bears more or less 

 drooping clusters of blue-belled fls. in March to May 

 (see Fig. 1394). The fls. are about 1 in. long, and 20 or 

 more in a terminal group. They have a purple tube and 

 blue bell of distinct shape, the lobes of the corolla being 

 less pronounced than in the other species. Mertensias 

 are allied to Pulraonaria, but the fls. have no bracts, as 

 in Pulmoiiaria. They are botanically nearer Myosotis, 

 which contains the forget-me-nots. Mertensias are gla- 

 brous or pilose : lvs. alternate, often having pellucid 

 dots : racemes terminal or the cymes loose, few-fld., 

 1-sided, sometimes panicled: fls. blue or purplish, rarely 

 white; calyx 5-cut or 5-partcd; lobes 5; stamens fastened 

 at the middle of the tube or higher. 



