MAPANIA 



MARANTA 



Malay peninsula to Austral. (Pandanophyllum hypoly- 

 trmdes, F. Muell. Hypolytrum Pandanophyllum, F. 

 Muell.). This much-named plant is separated by C. B. 

 Clarke as Thoracostachyum hypolytroides, Clarke, a 

 genus differing from Mapania in its corymbose rather 

 than congested spikes. The Ivs. are described as 4 ft. 

 long and 1-2 in. broad, with scabrous edges: lower- 

 most involucral bracts 1-2 ft. long and }^-\ in. broad, 

 tapering to long points: spikelets very numerous, 

 whitish. 



Apparently the only other species recently offered 

 regularly is M. humilis, Naves & Vill. (M . liicida, N.E. 

 Br.). Rhizome short and woody, terminating in a short 

 st. or crown bearing a top of densely equitant Ivs., which; 

 are 2-3 ft. long, 3-nerved, sharp 

 on margins and keel: scapes 

 from the lower axils, the mature 

 infl. ovoid, the bracts shorter 

 than the head. India. 



L. H. B. 



MAPLE: Acer. Flowering M.: Abu- 



tilon. 



MAPROUNEA (Guiana 

 name). Sometimes spelled Ma- 

 prounia. Euphorbidcese. Trees 

 and shrubs, not in cult., but used 

 for medicine and the 

 like, in their native 

 land. Glabrous: juice 

 milky: Ivs. entire, 

 pinnately veined: 

 infl. terminal; fls. 

 apetalous, monoeci- 

 ous; staminate calyx 

 2-3-lobed, lobes im- 

 bricate; stamens 1-3, 

 filaments connate; 

 ovary 3 -celled; 1 

 ovule in each cell: seed carunculate. Four 

 species in Trop. Amer. and Afr. Related 

 to Stillingia and Hippomane. M. brasili- 

 ensis, St. Hil., MARMELIERA DE CAMPO, 

 and M. guyanensis, Aubl., MENUDITO, of 

 Trop. S. Amer., are the chief species. 



J. B. S. NORTON. 



MARANG, Artocarpus odoratissima, of 

 the family Moraceae, is a recently dis- 

 covered fruit-tree from the southern Philip- 

 pines and the Sulu Archipelago, which has 

 been introduced to the United States and 

 is thought to possess considerable value 

 for tropical regions, though it will prob- 

 ably succeed only in very warm and humid 

 climates. It belongs to the same genus as 

 the bread-fruit (A. incisa,) and the jak, or 

 jack-fruit (A. integrifolia) , but is said by 

 Wester, who first brought it to the atten- 

 tion of horticulturists, to produce a fruit 

 superior in quality to the Philippine forms of either of 

 these. The tree is medium-sized, and similar in habit 

 to the bread-fruit, with large, dark green, entire or 

 trilobate leaves 18 to 24 inches long by 10 to 12 inches 

 broad. Wester describes the fruit as "large, about 6 

 inches long and 5 inches in equatorial diameter, round- 

 ish oblong, regular, thickly studded on the outside 

 with soft greenish yellow spines % inch in length; rind 

 thick and fleshy; flesh white, sweet, rich, juicy, aromatic 

 and of good flavor, separated into segments (of about the 

 size of a grape) clinging to the core, each segment con- 

 taining a seed; the seeds many, whitish, M by % of an 

 inch, smooth, separating readily from the flesh. When 

 the fruit is ripe, by passing a knife around and through 

 the rind, with a little care the halves may be separated 

 from the flesh, leaving this like a bunch of white grapes." 

 It is said to ripen during August in the Philippines. For 



species related to A . odoratissima, Blanco, see the article 

 Artocarpus, pages 401,402, Vol. I. -p. ^ PQPENOE. 



MARANTA (B. Maranta, Venetian Physician and 

 botanist, died 1754). Marantaceas. Greenhouse pot 

 plants, grown mostly for the foliage. 



Perennial herbs, tall or low, erect or prostrate, the 

 flowering part more or less branched: Ivs. petiolate, 

 radical and cauline: fls. racemose or paniculate; sepals 

 3, equal, lanceolate or lance-oblong; corolla more or 

 less tubular, usually enlarged or gibbous at base, the 3 

 lobes subequal and somewhat hooded at the apex; 

 2 exterior staminodia petal-like, usually obpvate, 

 showy; ovary 1-celled by abortion. Species 23 in the 

 Monograph by Schumann (hft. 11, 

 Das Pflanzenreich, 1902), in Trop. 

 Amer. Most of the plants cult, as 

 marantas are calatheas; and the true 

 marantas are treated the same as those 

 plants. These plants are often named 

 before the flowers are known, and 

 some of the following plants may be- 

 long to the genus 

 Calathea. The genus 

 yields arrow-root (p. 

 397). 



The culture of ma- 

 ranta is that of cala- 

 thea, which is de- 

 tailed in Vol. II, p. 

 619; but the direc- 

 tions may be reviewed 

 from another experience. The 

 marantas are grown for the hand- 

 some markings of the leaves, and 

 for making complete foliage 

 groups. They are increased by 

 division of the crowns, which may 

 be accomplished just as they are 

 starting into growth in the spring. 

 Large plants are the best to use 

 for cutting up, as they have strong 

 crowns, and under proper treat- 

 ment will form a plant more 

 quickly. The loam should be 

 washed from the root with a hose 

 under gentle pressure. This gives 

 an opportunity to see where is the 

 best place in the crown for divi- 

 sion. A sharp knife must be used 

 to give a clean cut, which will heal 

 more quickly. It is also a good 

 plan to cover the cut part with 

 powdered charcoal, which is a great 

 help in the prevention of decay. 

 The cut-up pieces may be potted 

 in equal parts of the fiber of loam, 

 flaky leaves, and sharp sand; add 

 also a small part of broken char- 

 coal. The pot should be big enough to admit the roots 

 without breaking or crushing them and they must be 

 supplied with good drainage. Marantas like abundance 

 of moisture at their roots. The water, however, must 

 pass freely through them, otherwise they soon get into a 

 sour stagnant condition. Divided plants should be kept 

 in a temperature of not less than 65 and the house must 

 be kept in a humid condition by light syringing, and 

 dampening between the pots on the bench, and in the 

 paths. Change the air in the house by ventilating, as 

 soon as the thermometer reaches 75. Shade the plants 

 from early spring until late autumn, as the bright 

 sunshine will soon destroy the foliage and make the 

 plants unsightly. Repotting is not necessary until the 

 following spring. In December, January and February, 

 marantas may be allowed to get quite dry at the roots 

 before watering. By this treatment they seem to start 



2324. Maranta arundinacea. ( X Ya) 



