1970 



MAHERNIA 



MAHONIA 



2302. Mahernia verticillata. 



into a coriaceous caps, with many seeds. More than 

 30 herbs and subshrubs of S. Afr., mostly with incised 

 Ivs. and drooping, bell-shaped fls. 



verticillata, Linn. (M. odordta, Hort., not of bota- 

 nists, which is Hermannia Presliana) . HONEY-BELL. Fig. 

 2302. A frequent plant in conservatories, and some- 

 tunes seen in window-gardens and 

 collections: half woody, very dif- 

 fuse and straggly, not making a 

 central leader, the terete crooked 

 sts. scabrous: Ivs. 

 small, much cut into 

 linear divisions, with 

 deep - cut stipules : 

 fls. %in. or less long, 

 nodding, usually 

 about 2 together, 

 from axillary shoots, 

 sweet, fragrant, 

 honey-yellow. 

 Free bloomer in win- 

 ter and spring. Of 

 easy cult. Prop, by cuttings. 

 A very pretty twiggy bush 

 for the cool greenhouse. The 

 branches are long and flexible, 

 so that specimens may be 

 trained into any form. It 

 may also be used for hanging- 

 baskets. It is of easy cult, in 

 pots, but lifts badly, 

 glabrata, Cav. Lys. dentate or dentate-pinnatifid 

 (not so finely cut as in the last), covered with stellate 

 down: trailing, not odorous. It is doubtful whether the 



Elant cult, under this name is the M. glabrata of 

 otanists. L. H. B. 



MAHOE, MOUNTAIN: Hibiscus elatus. 

 MAHOGANY: Swetenia. Mountain M.: Cercocarpus. 



MAHONIA (after Bernard M'Mahon, a prominent 

 American horticulturist; 1775-1816; see Vol. Ill, p. 1586, 

 for a biographical sketch). Syn., Odostemon. Berberi- 

 dacese. Ornamental woody plants grown chiefly for their 

 handsome evergreen foliage and for their large panicles 

 of yellow flowers. Usually united with Berberis. 



Evergreen shrubs, rarely small trees: Ivs. alternate, 

 odd-pinnate, rarely 3-foliolate, with minute subulate 

 stipules: fls. yellow, in many-fld. racemes or panicles 

 springing from the axils of bud-scales; sepals 9; petals 

 6 with nectaries at the base; stamens 6; ovary 1 -celled 

 with usually few ovules: fr. a dark blue and bloomy, 

 rarely red berry, with usually few small seeds. About 

 45 species in N. and Cent. Amer. and E. and S. E. Asia. 

 From Berberis with which it is often united, it is easily 

 distinguished by the pinnate Ivs. and the unarmed 

 branches, also by the large infl. springing from the axils 

 of bud-scales and by the 9 sepals. Monograph by Fedde 

 in Engler, Bot. Jahrbucher 31:30-133 (1901). 



The mahonias are very handsome evergreen shrubs 

 spreading usually by suckers, with large leaves and 

 yellow flowers in conspicuous panicles appearing in 

 spring and followed by dark blue bloomy berries. Most 

 of the species are tender, but M. repens, M. Aquifolium, 

 M. nervosa, M. pinnata var. Wagneri are hardy as far 

 north as Massachusetts, but the foliage is liable to "be 

 scorched if exposed to the winter's sun, though M. 

 repens is more resistant and is rarely burned. M. 

 japonica will succeed if planted in sheltered situations. 

 M. pinnata is a most beautiful evergreen species, but it 

 requires protection from cold winds, and the winter's 

 sun. M. repens is the best evergreen species we have. 

 It spreads rapidly and the foliage is rarely burned, and 

 the numerous clusters of showy yellow flowers render it 

 most attractive at the end of May. They prefer a 



humid soil and a position sheltered from strong winds 

 and from the hot sun. They are easily transplanted 

 and some, particularly M. repens and M. nervosa, 

 spread considerably by suckers. Propagation is by 

 seeds sown soon after maturity or stratified and sown 

 in spring, or by suckers which are freely produced in 

 most species, also by cuttings of half-ripened wood 

 under glass and by layers. 



nervosa, 4. 

 nutkanus, 1. 

 pinnata, 3. 

 repens, 2. 

 rotundifolia, 2. 

 trifurca, 6. 

 Wagneri, 3. 



A. Racemes many-fid., usually dense. 

 B. Lfts. rounded or truncate at the base, rarely cuneate, 



ovate to ovate-oblong. 



c. Texture of Ivs. leathery; Ifts. 3-9, sometimes 13. 

 D. Petiole about 1 in. long; Ifts. 3-9. 



1. Aquifdlium, Nutt. (Berberis Aquifdlium, Pursh. 

 Odostemon nutkanus, Rydb.). Fig. 2303. From 3-6 

 ft.: Ifts. 5-9, oblong or oblong-ovate, dark green and 

 lustrous above, spinulose-dentate, l^i-3 in. long: 

 racemes erect, fascicled: berries blue, small. May. 

 Brit. Col. to Ore. B.R. 1425. L.B.C. 18:1718. P.M. 

 9:5. G. 12: 721; 28: 143. G.M. 44:659. Gn.W. 23:361. 

 Var. juglandif dlia, Jouin. Lfts. usually 7, the lowest pair 

 usually close to the base of the petiole, often subcordate 

 at the base, smaller and of thicker texture, teeth 

 smaller, accumbent; rachis usually red. Var. gracilis, 

 Jouin (M. gracilis, Hort., not Fedde). Lfts. 5^9, 

 oblong-ovate, cuneate at the base, spinose-serrate with 

 small teeth, slightly lustrous above, 2-3 in. long. 

 There are also forms with variegated Ivs., with yellow 

 foliage and with the young foliage bright red. 



2. repens, Don (Berberis repens, Lindl. B. Aquifd- 

 lium, Brit. & Brown. B. nana, Greene. Odostemon 

 Aquifblium, Rydb.). Rarely over 1 ft. high, stolo- 

 niferous: Ifts. 3-7, roundish ovate or ovate, pale or 

 glaucous and dull above, spinulose-dentate, 1^-2^ 

 in. long: fls. and fr. as in the preceding. Brit. Col. to 

 Calif, and N. Mex. B.R. 1176. L.B.C. 19:1847. 

 Hardier than the preceding species, but less handsome. 



2303. Mahonia Aquifolium. 



Var. rotundifdlia, Fedde (Berberis rotundifolia Her- 

 veyi, Hort.). Lfts. usually 5, broader, often sub- 

 orbicular, nearly entire or finely and sparingly serrate. 

 Var. macrocarpa, Jouin. Frs. thicker and Ivs. less 

 opaque. 



DD. Petiole usually very short; Ifts. 7-13. 



3. pinnata, Fedde (Berberis pinnata, Lag. ^ M . 



fasciculdris, DC. B. Aquifdlium var. fasciculdris, 



Bean). Two to 6 ft.: Ifts. 7-13, ovate or ovate-lanceo- 



late, undulate at the margin and with few spiny teeth, 



