no 



MEL 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



MEL 



that there were male and female trees ; but Swartz has ascer- 

 tained that one tree bears hermaphrodite flowers, another 

 male flowers, and that the latter are most common. They 

 flower in April, and the fruit is ripe about Midsummer. 

 Native of South America; and cultivated in the East Indies. 

 Browne says it was brought to Jamaica from Surinam ; that 

 it thrives well in the low lands about Kingston, rising some- 

 times to the height of sixteen or eighteen feet, or more ; that 

 the fruit is very mellow, and grows to the size of a large 

 plum ; and that it seldom brings more than one stone or seed 

 to perfection. He calls it Genip Tree, which is derived from 

 the Dutch knippen: the Spaniards call it, Monos. 



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

 nia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth one-leafed, 

 four-parted, permanent. Corolla: petals four, ovate-oblong, 

 acute, longer than the calix ; nectary glands four, large, twin, 

 surrounding the germina. Stamina: filamenta eight, awl- 

 shaped, erect, shorter than the corolla, inserted into the 

 receptacle on the outside of the nectary; antherse subcordate, 

 erect. Pistil: germina four, superior; style filiform, longer 

 than the stamina, deciduous ; stigma four-cornered, flatted, 

 concave at the centre. Pericarp: capsules four, elliptic, 

 compressed, divaricated, one-celled, gaping at the upper 

 margin, Seeds: solitary, elliptic, compressed. ESSENTIAL 

 CHARACTER. Calix: inferior, four-leaved. Petals: four. 



Nectary: glands four, twin. Capsule: four, one-seeded. 



The only known species is, 



1. Melicope Ternata. A shrub, with smooth round leafy 

 branches. Native of New Zealand. 



Melicytus ; a genus of the class Dioecia, order Pentandria. 

 Male. Calix: perianth five-toothed, very short. Corolla: 

 petals five, ovate, acute, horizontal, longer than the calix; 

 nectary, scales five, clubbed, cup-shaped, excavated at top, 

 staminiferous on the inside, upright. Stamina: filamenta 

 none ; antherse five, ovate-roundish, four-grooved in front, 

 fastened longitudinally to the nectaries within, and a little 

 longer. Female. Calix and Corolla: as in the males; nec- 

 tary, five scales, triangular, acute, incumbent on the germen, 

 shorter than the calix. Pistil : germen ovate ; style very 

 short ; stigma flat, four or five lobed ; lobes rounded, small. 

 Pericarp: capsule berried, globular, smooth, coriaceous, 

 one-celled, four or five valved. Seeds: about five, convex 

 on one side, angular on the other, nestling in the pulp. 

 ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: five-toothed. Corolla: 

 five-petalled, three times as long as the calix. Nectary: five 

 scales. Male. Anthera: five, without filamenta, fastened 

 to the inside of the nectary. Female. Stigma: flattened out, 

 four or five lobed. Capsule : berried, one-celled. Seeds : 

 nestling. The only known species is, 



1. Melicytus Ramiflorus. A shrub or tree with round 

 smooth leafy branches, and numerous whitish flowers. Na- 

 tive of New Zealand. 



Melilot. See Trifolium. 



Melissa; a genus of the class Dklynamia, order Gymno- 

 spermia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth one- 

 leafed, subcampanulate, dry, scariose, spreading a little, 

 angular, striated, permanent, with a two-lipped mouth; upper 

 lip three-toothed, reflex, spreading, flat; lower lip shorter, 

 sharpish, two-parted. Corolla: one-petalled, ringent; tube 

 cylindrical; throat gaping; upper lip shorter, erect, arched, 

 roundish, bifid ; lower lip trifid ; middle segment larger, 

 cordate. Stamina : filamenta four, awl-shaped, two the length 

 of the corolla, two shorter by halt"; antherte small, converg- 

 ing, in pairs. Pistil: germen four-cleft; style filiform, the 

 length of the corolla, inclining along with the stamina, beneath 

 the upper lip of the corolla; stigma slender, bifid, reflex. 



Pericarp: none. Calix: larger, unchanged, fostering the 

 seeds in its bosom. Seeds: four, ovate. ESSENTIAL CHA- 

 RACTER. Calix: dry, flattish above; upper lip subfasti- 

 giate. Corolla : upper lip somewhat arched, bifid ; lower lip 

 with the middle lobe heart-shaped. The species are, 



1 . Melissa Officinalis ; Officinal or Common Garden Baum, 

 or Balm. Racemes axillary, whorled ; pedicels simple. Root 

 perennial ; stalk annual, square, branching, from two to three 

 feet high ; leaves by pairs at each joint ; flowers in loose 

 small bunches from the axils, in whorls, white or yellowish, 

 appearing in July. The herb in its recent state, has a weak, 

 roughish, aromatic taste, and a pleasant smell, somewhat of 

 the lemon kind, and hence this species has been denominated, 

 Melissa odore Citri. On distilling the fresh herb with water, 

 it impregnates the first runnings pretty strongly with its 

 grateful flavour ; and when large quantities are employed in 

 this way, there separates and rises to the surface of the 

 aqueous fluid, a small portion of essential oil, in colour yellow- 

 ish, and of a very fragrant smell. Balm was formerly esteemed 

 of great use in all complaints supposed to proceed from a dis- 

 ordered state of the nervous system, according to Paracelsus, 

 Hoffman, and Boerhaave, who inclined to the opinion of the 

 Arab physicians, and deemed it an efficacious remedy. Others 

 speak of its effects as an emmenagogue : but neither this nor 

 any other medicinal power is now attributed to Balm. As 

 tea, however, it makes a grateful diluent drink in fevers, and 

 is thus used, either by itself or acidulated with lemons. The 

 essential oil probably possesses no qualities different from 

 many other aromatics and cordials. From the fondness of 

 bees for this plant, it has been named Apiastrum Melissa, 

 Melissophyllum, and by contraction Melispkyllum, and was 

 directed by the ancients, among other herbs, to be rubbed 

 upon the hive to render it agreeable to the swarm. It is 

 known by its Greek name Melissa in all the languages of 

 Europe, except the Danish, in which it is called Hiertensfryd. 

 Mr. Miller makes a distinct species of the Roman Baum, 

 which grows naturally about Rome and in other parts of Italy. 

 The stalks are slender, the leaves much shorter, the whole 

 plant hairy, and of a strong disagreeable odour : the flowers 

 grow in whorls, sitting pretty close to the branches, and are 

 smaller than those of the common sort. Balm is a native of 

 the southern parts of Europe, especially in mountainous 

 situations, as in Switzerland, Carniola, Silesia, the south of 

 France, and in Italy. It was introduced into our gardens at 

 an early period. This and the next plant are easily propa- 

 gated by parting the root in October, time enough for the 

 offsets to be established before the frosts come on. The roots 

 may be divided into small pieces with three or four buds to 

 each, and planted two feet apart in beds of common garden 

 earth. The only culture they require is to keep them clean 

 from weeds, and to cut off the decayed stalks in autumn, and 

 then stirring up the ground between them. 



2. Melissa Grandiflora; Great-flowered Balm. Flower- 

 stalks axillary, forked, longer than the footstalks; bractes 

 lanceolate, sessile ; leaves ovate, serrated. Root perennial ; 

 stalk annual, rising about a foot high ; flowers large, purple 

 coloured. It flowers in June, and the seeds ripen in August. 

 The leaves when bruised have the smell of Garden Baum. 

 There is a variety with white, and another with red flowers, both 

 much inferior to the purple ; and it also has variegated leaves 

 like the preceding. Native of the southern parts of Europe. 



3. Melissa Calamintha ; Mountain Balm, or Calamint. 

 Peduncles axillary, dichotomous, the length of the leaves; 

 lower lip of the calix longer than the upper segments. Root 

 perennial ; stem upright, four-cornered, woolly. A strong 

 infusion made of the dried leaves of this plant is serviceable 



