MEL 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



MEL 



109 



piirs, distinct; racemes axillary, elongated; flowers in whorls; 

 bractes linear, elongated. The stem, which is shrubby, and 

 from three to five feet high, during the flowering season is 

 apt to exhibit a naked appearance, having then fewer leaves 

 on it, and those not of their full size; the foliage has an 

 unpleasant smell, and the nectar does not flow so copiously 

 as in the preceding sort, but is retained at the bottom of the 

 corolla. Native of the Cape. This is not spreading like the 

 first, and is not propagated so easily ; but cuttings planted 

 upon aa old hot-bed, the heat of which is over, and covered 

 close with bell or hand glasses to exclude the air, will take 

 root pretty freely; these may be planted in pots, and sheltered 

 iu the winter under a common frame for a year or two, till 

 they have obtained strength ; then they may be planted in 

 a warm border, and treated in the same way as the former 

 sort ; with which management they flower much better than 

 any of those which have been more tenderly treated. All the 

 sorts succeed best in a dry soil, and warm situation. 



3. Melianthus Comosus ; Tufted Honey-flower. Stipules 

 distinct; racemes infrafoliaceous ; flowers alternate; bractes 

 cordate ; leaves villose above. Stem upright, branched, four 

 feet high, round ; flowers in pendent clusters, of a yellow 

 colour. Native of the Cape. 



Melica; a genus of the class Triandria, order Digynia. 

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: glume two-flowered, two- 

 valved ; valves ovate, concave, nearly equal. Corolla: two- 

 valved ; valves ovate, awnless ; one concave, the other flat 

 and smaller; a corpuscle between the florets, turbinate, pedi- 

 oelled ; nectary one-leafed, horizontal, surrounding the ger- 

 men, fleshy. Stamina: filamenta three, capillary, thickened 

 at the base, connate, the length of the flower; antherse 

 oblong, forked at each end. Pistil: germen obovate, tur- 

 binate ; styles two, bristle-shaped, spreading, naked at the 

 base; stigmas oblong, feathered. Pericarp: none; corolla 

 enclosing and dropped the seed. Seed : single, ovate, grooved 

 on one side. Observe. The peduncled corpuscle, which is 

 the rudiment of a flower, gives the essential character; it 

 consists of two rudiments, or truncated alternate florets, with 

 convoluted pellucid glumes. The stamina also are dilated at 

 the base, and connate with a one-leafed nectary- ESSENTIAL 

 CHARACTER. Calix: two-valved, two-flowered; with the 

 rudiments of one or two florets that are abortive between the 

 two others. These Grasses are easily propagated by seed, or 

 by parting the roots in autumn. None of them are cultivated 

 for feeding cattle, though some say that the first and sixth 

 species are both very agreeable to sheep. The latter, and 

 also the seventh species, together with some of the Cape spe- 

 cies, are elegant Grasses, and deserve a place in curious gar- 

 dens. The species are, 



1. Melica Ciliata; Fringed Melic Grass. The outer petal 

 of the lower floret ciliate. Root perennial ; culms several, 

 upright, from two to three feet high, round, smooth, with 

 seven smooth purple joints. Native of the North of Europe. 



2. Melica Gigantea; Gigantic Melic Grass. Corollas hirsute, 

 awned; panicle whorled; culm upright. Native of the Cape. 



3. Melica Geniculata; Jointed Melic Grass. Corollas 

 rough-haired; panicle contracted ; culm decumbent. Native 

 of the Cape. 



4. Melica Decumbens ; Prostrate Melic Grass. Corollas 

 hirsute; flowers racenied, nodding; culm decumbent. Native 

 of the Cape. 



5. Melica Racemosa; Racemed Melic Grass. Corollas rough- 

 haired; racemes drooping; culm erect. Native of the Cape. 



6. Melica Nutans ; Mountain Melic Grass. Petals beard- 

 less ; panicle nodding, simple. Root perennial, somewhat 

 creeping; culms a foot or a foot aod half high, simple, upright, 



rugged, striated, somewhat angular, below purplish. It flow- 

 ers in July and August. Native of many parts of Europe, 

 particularly the northern countries, in rocky and shady situa- 

 tions. It is found in Yorkshire, Westmoreland, and Cum- 

 berland ; and also in Scotland. 



7. Melica Uniflora; Single-flowered Wood Melic Grass. 

 Panicle thin ; calices two-flowered, one floret hermaphrodite, 

 the other neuter. Root perennial ; culm simple, a foot and 

 half or more in height, where it is covered with the sheaths 

 of the leaves, somewhat angular, rugged, and striated, at bot- 

 tom of a dull purple colour. The delicacy and striking colour 

 of the panicle, joined to its place of growth in woods, rea- 

 dily distinguish this from all our other grasses. Native of 

 Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, France, and England : it is 

 found in most of the woods near London; and in Mungewell, 

 Ardley, and Stokenchurch woods, in Oxfordshire, &c. 



8. Melica Ramosa ; Branching Melic Grass. Corollas 

 smooth, awnless; panicle contracted; culm branched. 

 Native of the Cape. 



9. Melica Capensis ; Cape Melic Grass. Corollas smooth, 

 awnless ; panicles spreading very much ; leaves subfiliform. 

 Native of the Cape. 



10. Melica Minuta; Small Melic Grass. Culm branched; 

 leaves bristle-shaped ; petals beardless. Native of Italy. 



1 1 . Melica Coerulea ; Purple Melic Grass. Panicle con- 

 tracted; flowers cylindrical. Root perennial, thick, whitish, or 

 brownish, flexuose, and villose. This grass is easily known by 

 its having only one knot, and that near the base ; and by the 

 stamina and stigma being of a deep purple colour. Merret's 

 name of Gramen Spica Lavendula: is very expressive of its 

 appearance when in flower. It varies greatly in size, and 

 being harsh and late, does not seem adapted to agricultural 

 purposes. The fishermen in the isle of Sky make ropes for 

 their nets of this grass. It is common on wet moors and 

 heaths, flowering from July to the end of September. 



12. Melica Papilionacea ; Pea-flowered Melic Grass. 

 Lower valve of the calix very large, coloured : outer petal 

 subciliate. Native of Brazil. 



13. Meliea Altissima; Tall Melic Grass. Petals beardless ; 

 panicle contracted, directed one way. Native of Siberia. 



14. Melica Falx. Spike directed one way, compressed, 

 imbricate ; leaves on the culm two, alternate. Flowers pu- 

 bescent, with a white edge. Native of the Cape. 



15. Melica Mutica. Panicles loose, with few flowers ; 

 branchlets simple ; flowers obtuse; stalk erect, glabrous. It 

 flowers in July. Found in shady places from Virginia to 

 Florida. 



Melicocca; a genus of the class Octandria, order Monogy- 

 nia ; or, according to Swartz, of the class Polygamia, order 

 Dioacia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth four- 

 parted ; leaflets ovate, concave, blunt, spreading. Corolla : 

 petals four, oblong, equal, bent back entirely among the 

 leaflets of the calix. Stamina: filamenta eight, awl-shaped, 

 upright, short; antherse oblong, upright. Pistil: germen 

 ovate, almost the length of the corolla; style very short; 

 stigma large, subpeltate, extended on both sides, oblique. 

 Pericarp: drupe barked, roundish, bluntly acuminate. Seed: 

 nut coriaceous, roundish, smooth. (Gartner.) ESSENTIAL 

 CHARACTER. Calix : four-parted. Petals : four, bent back 

 below the calix. Stigma; subpeltate. Drupe or Berry: 

 coriaceous. The only species known is, 



1. Melicocca Bijuga. This is a tree, with a middle-sized 

 unarmed trunk ; branches spreading ; drupe twice as large as 

 a nutmeg, with a thin and somewhat brittle bark covering 

 the nut, which has a sweet and gelatinous substance ia it, 

 like the yolk of an egg. Jacquin was informed at Curacoa 



