70 



MAG 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



MA G 



ene-petalled, somewhat bell-shaped, five-cleft, divisions 

 ovate, upright. Stamina: filamenta five, awl-shaped, villose, 

 shorter than the corolla; antherae ovate, compressed, in the 

 jaws of the flower. Pistil: germen inferior, conical; style 

 simple, the length of the stamina; stigma thickish, two-lobed. 

 Pericarp: capsule oblong, turbinate, two-celled, two-valved. 

 Seeds: very many, imbricate. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. 

 Corolla: bell-shaped. Capsule: two-celled, two ? valved, with 

 the valves gaping outwardly at the sides. Seeds: imbricate. 

 The species are, 



1. Macrocnemum Jamaicense. Corymbs on long axillary 

 stalks; calix without any appendage. A small tree, with a 

 branching smooth trunk; branches long, loose, round, and 

 warted ; leaves approximating towards the upper part of the 

 branchlets,petioled, opposite, large, oblong, with a short point, 

 entire, nerved, smooth on both sides ; flowers in a sort of pani- 

 cle ; corollas rather large, of a yellowish green. It generally 

 rises to the height of twelve or fourteen feet. Native of the 

 southern part of the island of Jamaica, on the banks of rivulets. 



2. Macrocnemum Coccineum. Racemes with elliptic 

 coloured leaves ; leaves lanceolate, elliptic, one to two feet 

 long. This is a tree, with hairy branches ; eoj-olla funnel- 

 form. Found in the island of Trmidad by Von Rohr. 



3. Macrocnemum Candidissimum. Corymbs trichotomous, 

 with roundish leaves ; leaves ovate. This is a tree, with 

 round, smooth, opposite branches, jointed at top, compressed, 

 dilated under the leaves ; capsule oblong. Found by Von 

 Rohr in the neighbourhood of St. Martha. 



4. Macrocnemum Speciosum. Corymbs shorter than the 

 leaves, hairy ; calicine bractes roundish ovate, its stalk shorter 

 than the corolla. A beautiful shrub, five feet high. Native 

 of the Caraccas. 



Macrolobium; a genus of the class Triandria, order Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth double, 

 outer two-leaved; leaflets opposite, ovate-oblong, fastened to 

 the base of the inner; inner one-leafed, turbinate, short; 

 mouth oblique, five-toothed. Corolla: five-petalled, unequal ; 

 upper petal very large, upright, clawed, oblong, blunt, con- 

 cave, waved, inserted into the inner perianth; lower petals 

 four, small, ovate, spreading, fastened to the inner perianth 

 above. Stamina : filamenta four, inserted into the inner 

 perianth ; one short, barren, under the great petal ; three 

 very long, filiform, anther-bearing, fastened below the smaller 

 petals; antherse four-cornered. Pistil: germen pedicelled, 

 ovate ; style filiform ; stigma blunt. Pericarp : legume ovate, 

 compressed, coriaceous, one-celled. Seed: single, roundish, 

 compressed. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: double; 

 outer two-leaved; inner one-leafed. Petals: five; upper 

 very large, the four other very small, equal. Germen : pedi- 

 eelled. -The species are, 



1. Macrolobium Vouapa. Leaves binate; Legume sharp 

 on one side, and two-winged. This is a branching tree, sixty 

 feet high, with flowers of a pale violate colour at the ends of 

 the branches. Found in the large forests of Guiana. 



2. Macrolobiufn Simira. Leaves binate ; legume rounded 

 on all sides. This tree is much branched, has a thick trunk, 

 and rises to the height of eighty feet. The bark is reddish, 

 thick, and wrinkled. Native of South America. 



3. Mnerolobium Outea. Leaves two-paired. This tree, 

 which is vow branchy at top, rises to the height of fifty feet, 

 with u smooth grey bark. Native of the forests of Guiana. 



Mrtd'lrr. See Rubiu. 



Mndwort. See Alyssum. 



Mnr/noUn ; a genus of the class Polyandria, order Polygynia. 

 (ii'.NERic CHARACTER. Calix: perianth three-leaved; 

 leaflets ovate, concave, petal-shaped, deciduous. Corolla: 



petals nine, oblong, concave, blunt, narrower at the base. 

 Stamina: filamenta numerous, short, acuminate, compressed, 

 inserted into the common receptacle of the pistilla below the 

 germina; antherse linear, fastened on each side to the margin 

 of the h'lameuta. Pistil : germina numerous, ovate-oblong, 

 two-celled, covering a club-shaped receptacle; styles re- 

 curved, contorted, very short; stigmas longitudinal of the 

 style, villose. Pericarp : strobile ovate, covered with capsules, 

 which are compressed, roundish, scarcely imbricate, clustered, 

 acute, one-celled, two-valved, sessile, opening outwards, per- 

 manent. Seeds : two or one, roundish, berried, hanging by a 

 thread from the sinus of each scale of the strobile. Observe. 

 The germina are two-celled and two-seeded; the ripe capsules 

 one-ceiled, two-valved. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: 

 three-leaved. Petals: nme. Capsule: one-celled, two-valved. 

 Seeds: berried, pendulous. The species are, 



1. Magnolia Grandirlora; Laurel-leaved Tulip Tree. Leaves 

 perennial, oblong, tomentose underneath; petals obovate. 

 The trunk of this tree is straight, two feet or more in diame- 

 ter, rising to above seventy or eighty feet, dividing into many 

 branches, which form a large regular head. The flowers are 

 produced at the ends of the branches; they are very large, 

 and composed of eight or ten petals, narrow at their base, 

 but broad, rounded, and a little waved at their extremities ; 

 they spread open very wide, six to nine inches, are of a pure 

 white colour, and have an agreeable scent. In its native 

 country it begins to flower in May ; the flowers continue a long 

 time, perfuming the woods with their odour during the 

 greatest part of the summer; but in England it seldom begins 

 to flower till the middle or end of June, and does not continue 

 long in beauty. Native of Florida and Carolina. This, with 

 all the other species, is propagated by seeds, layers, and cut- 

 tings of the shoots : if by seeds, they should be procured 

 from the places of their natural growth, which should be 

 put up in sand, and sent over as soon as possible ; for if 

 they are kept long out of the ground, they rarely grow. It 

 is a good way to sow them in pots, and plunge them into 

 an old hot-bed of tanner's bark. To increase them by 

 layers, choose the young pliable shoots, giving them a gen- 

 tle twist, or a slit. It may be done either in spring or autumn. 

 Some may root the first year, but more probably not till 

 the second. Then take them ofT, plant them in pots, in the 

 early spring, and plunge them in a moderate hot-bed for a 

 month or two, and thus they will make good plants by 

 autumn. Shelter them during winter fpr a year or two, and 

 then plant them in the full ground. For cuttings, take 

 young shoots of the preceding year; in March or April, 

 plant them in pots up to the rims in a hot-bed ; water and 

 shade them occasionally; and when they are rooted, inure 

 them by degrees to the open air. 



2. Magnolia Plumieri; P/umier's Magnolia. Leaves per- 

 ennial, ovate-roundish, smooth on both sides. Native of the 

 island of St. Lucia, Martinico, and Guadaloupe. 



3. Magnolia Glauca ; Swamp Magnolia- Leaves ovate- 

 oblong, glaucous underneath. It grows about fifteen or six- " 

 teen feet high. The flowers are produced in May and June, 

 at the extremity of the branches ; they are white, and have 

 an agreeable sweet scent ; and have only six concave petals : 

 after-these are past, the fruit increases to the size of a walnut, 

 with its cover of a conical shape ; (he seed is about the size of 

 a kidney-bean. In America this tree is known by the names 

 of White Laurel, Swamp Sassafras, and Beaver Tree. It has 

 the last name, because the root is eaten as a great dainty by 

 beavers, which are caught by means of it. These trees are 

 natives of the woods of America, and may be discovered by 

 the scent of the blossoms at the distance of three quarters of 



