1964 



MADIA 



MAGNOLIA 



The nearest genus of garden value is Layia, from 

 which Madia is distinguished by the following char- 

 acters: involucre deeply sulcate, bracts strongly in- 

 folding and thus inclosing the achenes of the rays which 

 are laterally compressed: achenes of the disk fertile or 

 sterile. Their fls. are remarkable for closing in the sun- 

 shine, and opening in the morning or evening. Species 

 about a dozen. 



They are all called tarweeds from their glandular, 

 viscid, heavily-scented foliage, the common tarweed of 

 California being var. congesta of M . saliva, which is a 

 useful annual plant for sheep pastures in dry, warm 

 soil. M. elegans is an interesting ornamental annual. 

 It has a graceful open habit (see Fig. 2294) and dis- 

 tinct flowers (Fig. 2295), which become more numer- 

 ous as the summer advances. 



A. Rays showy. 



B. Plant annual: Ivs. chiefly alternate: pappus none. 

 Slogans, D. Don. Figs. 2294, 2295. Height 1-4 ft. : Ivs. 

 linear or lanceolate, mostly entire: rays acutely 3-lobed, 

 yellow throughout or with a 

 brown spot at the base. Calif, 

 and Ore. to Nev. B.M. 3548. 

 B.R. 1458. Needs a shady 

 place. 



BB. Plant perennial: Ivs. mostly 

 opposite: pappus present 

 in disk-fls. 



madioides, Greene (Aniso- 

 cdrpusmadioides, Nutt. Madia 

 Nuttattii, Gray). Slender, not 

 over 1-2 ft.: Ivs. linear-lanceo- 

 late, sometimes dentate: heads 

 paniculate, usually short- 

 stalked. Woods, Brit. Col. to 

 Monterey, Calif. 



AA. Rays inconspicuous, about 



2 lines long. 



sativa, Molina. A glandu- 

 lar and sticky, heavy-scented 

 annual about 1-3 ft.: Ivs. from 

 broadly lanceolate to linear: 

 rays 5-12, with honey-yellow 

 ligules about M m - long. Ore., 

 Calif., Chile, perhaps native in 

 S. Amer. N . TAYLOR.! 



M3JSA (from madss, the Arabian name of Msesa lan- 

 ceolatd). Myrsinaceae. A group of about 100 shrubs 

 found throughout the tropical and subtropical regions, 

 except Amer., differing from all other Myrsinacea3 in the 

 many-seeded fr. and the half-superior ovary. Lvs. 

 alternate, petioled, entire or serrate, without stipules: 

 fls. small, white, in axillary racemes or panicles, rarely 

 terminal; calyx 5-lobed; corolla campanulate or urceo- 

 late, 5-lobed; stamens affixed to the corolla-tube, oppo- 

 site the lobes, included; ovary half -superior, 1-celled, 

 with many ovules on a central placenta; style cylin- 

 dric with capitate stigma: fr. berry-like, many-seeded, 

 crowned by the persistent calyx and style. The fol- 

 lowing species are occasionally grown in S. Calif, and 

 M. argentea as a greenhouse phrub in botanical gar- 

 dens in^Eu. Prop, by seeds and probably by cuttings. 

 M. argentea, Wall. Large shrub with stout branches, 

 densely brownish pubescent while young: Ivs. mem- 

 branous, elliptic to elliptic-oblong, dentate, dull green 

 above and more or less pubescent on both sides, 4-8 in. 

 long: fls. white, scarcely K m - long, in short racemes 

 J^r-1 in. long: fr. globose, whitish, K m - across or less. 

 Himalayas. M. indica, Wall. Tree, to 30 ft.: Ivs. cori- 

 aceous, glabrous, elliptic, dentate, about 5 in. long: 

 racemes axillary, shorter than Ivs. India. Bears edible 

 berries. M. macrophylla, Wall. Shrub, 6-14 ft.: 

 branches pubescent: Ivs. broadly elliptic, softly hairy 



2295. Madia elegans. 



(Natural size) 



on both surfaces, dentate, to 6 in. : racemes panicled, 

 often as long as Ivs.: berries rusty red, not edible. 

 India - ALFRED REHDER. 



MAGNOLIA (after Pierre Magnol, professor of medi- 

 cine and director of the botanic garden at Montpeljier, 

 1638-1715). Magnolidcese. Woody plants grown chiefly 

 for their showy white, pink or purple flowers and also 

 for their handsome foliage; mostly spring-blooming. 



Deciduous or evergreen trees and shrubs, with rather 

 stout branches marked with conspicuous If .-scars: Ivs. 

 alternate, entire; the stipules usually adnate to the 

 petiole and inclosing the young successive If.: fls. ter- 

 minal, solitary, the buds inclosed in a stipular spathe; 

 sepals 3, often petaloid; petals 6-15; stamens and carpels 

 numerous, the latter connate into a spindle, developing 

 into a cone-like somewhat fleshy or leathery fr., with 

 dehiscent, 1-2 seeded carpels; the large, usually scarlet 

 seeds often suspended for a time from the fr. by thin 

 threads. About 35 species in N. and Cent. Amer., 

 Himalayas and E. Asia. The wood is close-grained, usu- 

 ally light and satiny, but not durable; that of M. hypo- 

 leuca is much used in Japan for lacquered ware; the 

 bark and fr. of some species have been used medici- 

 nally as a tonic and stimulant. 



The magnolias are highly ornamental and popular, 

 with large white, pink or purple, rarely yellowish flow- 

 ers, often fragrant; the cone-shaped fruits are often pink 

 or scarlet and very decorative. Most of the deciduous 

 species are fairly hardy, at least in sheltered positions, 

 as far north as northern New York and Massachusetts, 

 and M. acuminata,, M. Kobus and M. stellata even far- 

 ther north, while M. Campbellii is the most tender. Of 

 the evergreen species, M . grandiflora, one of the most 

 beautiful native trees, is precariously hardy north to 

 Philadelphia. The Asiatic deciduous species are among 

 the most showy and striking of the early-flowering trees 

 and shrubs; the earliest is the shrubby M. stellata, 

 blooming in mild climates in March, and after this M. 

 denudata comes into bloom, closely followed by M . Sou- 

 langeana and after this M. liliflora. The handsomest of 

 the deciduous species is probably M. hypoleuca, with the 

 very large leaves silvery white below and with showy, 

 sweet-scented flowers; also the American M. macrophylla 

 and M. tripetala are conspicuous by their very large 

 foliage. The magnolias are usually planted as single 

 specimens on the lawn, and there are, perhaps, no plants 

 more striking against a background of dark green coni- 

 fers. Some species, as M . grandiflora in the South and 

 M . acuminata farther north, are fine avenue trees. The 

 magnolias thrive best in somewhat rich, moderately 

 moist and porous soil, preferring sandy or peaty loam, 

 but some kinds which usually grow naturally on the 

 borders of swamps, as M . glauca, thrive as well in moist 

 and swampy situations. Transplanting is difficult and 

 is most successfully performed just when the new growth 

 is starting. Propagation is by seeds sown immediately 

 or stratified, and by layers of last year's growth put 

 down in spring and tongued or notched. Layers are 

 usually severed and transplanted the following spring, 

 but as many of them die after transplanting, it is a 

 safer way to take them off early in July, when the new 

 growth has ripened, plant them in pots and keep in a 

 close frame until they are established. Varieties and 

 rarer kinds are often veneer- or side-grafted in early 

 spring or summer on potted stock in the greenhouse or 

 frame; as a stock M. tripetala is perhaps the best on 

 account of its better fibrous roots, which render trans- 

 planting safer, but M. acuminata is also a good stock. 

 Sometimes increased by greenwood cuttings taken with 

 a heel and handled under glass. 



Magnolias in the South. 



Evergreen kinds. (P. J. Berckmans.) 



Among the finest magnolias cultivated in the South 

 are the two native evergreen species, M. grandiflora and 



