2004 



MARSILEA 



MARTIUSELLA 



Ivs. like 4-lvd. clover or oxalis, one species of which, 

 M. quadrifdlia, Linn., is sold and is also run wild in 

 the eastern states. It is a creeping plant, rooting in the 

 mud on the margins of ponds and making an attractive 

 cover. The petioles grow 3-5 in. tall, or taller in the 

 water, and bear at the apex 4 bright green obcuneate or 

 triangular Ifts. The sporocarps or frs. are nearly ses- 

 sile at the base of the petioles. Prop, easily by pieces of 

 the runners, and is likely to become a weed. The young 

 Ifts. close at night. Eu. and Asia. Mn. 6, p. 107. 

 M. Drummondii, A. Br. (Fig. 2327), is a greenhouse 

 species needing moderate temperatures and pot cult, 

 with abundance of surplus water in saucers or even set 

 in a tank, partly submerged. Under the best condi- 

 tions the long clover-like Ivs. may reach a length of 18 

 in., and form a very attractive plant. The stalks and 

 Ifts. are covered with whitish hairs; the spores are borne 

 in cases on separate stalks an inch or so long. 



R. C. BENEDICT. 



MARTINEZIA (Rev. Dr. Baltasar Jacobo Martinez 

 Companon, archbishop of Santa Fe, who sent many 

 early collections of plants from Peru). Palmacese, tribe 

 Bactrideae. Ornamental feather-leaved palms, with spiny 

 ringed trunks. 



Leaves pinnate, the segms. broad, wedge-shaped, 

 alternate or grouped, the apex truncate and ragged; 

 petioles and rachis spiny, as are also the spadices and 

 spathes of the infl. : fls. rather small, the calyx with 

 3 segms.; stamens 6, inserted in the disk: fr. globose, 

 1-cefled, orange, scarlet or rose-pink. Species about 8. 

 Trop. Amer. G.C. II. 26:491. 



Martinezias are beautiful palms, and make fairly 

 good house plants but their spiny character is against 

 their popularity. They must have a stove temperature. 

 They do not require a great amount of soil. Light 

 sandy loam, with plenty of sharp sand, is best. They 

 need abundant moisture. 

 They sometimes flower in 

 cultivation, but the four 

 kinds given below are distinct 

 by their foliage and spines. 

 Like all armed palms, they 

 are slow to germinate, but 

 after the first or second year 

 they grow fairly fast. The 

 commonest and best kind is 

 M. caryotsefolia, which has 

 fewer spines than the other 

 species and, unlike many 

 other palms, shows its true 

 leaves at a very early stage. 

 It resembles the fish-tail 

 palms (Caryota), but the 

 leaves are a lighter green 

 and usually larger. M . erosa 

 makes a better specimen at 

 5 to 6 feet than when small. 

 It is much more jagged at 

 the tips of the leaves. Being 

 very spiny all over, it is less 

 desirable. M. Lindeniana is 

 more like the first. The spines 

 are longer but not very nu- 

 merous. M. granatensis is 

 2327. Marsilea Drummondii. of coarser habit and slower 

 growth, and desirable only 

 for large collections. (H. A. Siebrecht.) 



A. Lvs. divided into segms. 



B. Segms. in groups. 

 c. Apex of segms. 3-lobed. 



caryotaefdlia, HBK. Sts. at length 30-50 ft. high 

 but usually not over 6 in. thick: Ivs. few, 3-6 ft. long, 

 light green; Ifts. in groups, 6-12 in. long, 4-6 in. wide 

 at the apex: st., petioles, rachis and nerves below, densely 



clothed with long black spines: spadix about 18 in. long, 

 appearing between the Ivs. : fr. yellowish red, about Min. 

 long. Colombia. G.C. 1872:181. B.M.6854. F.R. 2:49. 



cc. Apex of segms. with a point projecting from the 



upper margin. 



Lindeniana, Wendl. Sts. 9-15 ft. high: pinnae in 

 opposite groups of 4-6, the groups widely separated, 

 long-wedge-shaped, 10-14 in. long, 8-10 times as long 

 as broad, with a short, projecting point at the upper 

 margin, the nerves ciliate-spiny toward the end; 

 petiole densely covered with grayish brown hairs, with 

 many rather large black spines 1-2 3/2 in. long; rachis 

 is also spiny above and below; midnerve of each segm. a 

 trifle shorter than the lower margin and spiny beneath, 

 like the rachis and lateral nerves: Ivs. dark green above, 

 lighter beneath; terminal segm. broadest: fr. rose-red. 

 Mts. of Colombia, at an altitude of 6,000 ft. 



BB. Segms. in 2~4 pairs. 



er6sa, Lind. Lvs. with 2-3 pairs of narrow Ifts. at 

 base and a pair of broader ones at the apex, all oblique 

 at the apex, bearing long, brown, needle-shaped spines 

 on the veins and midrib; rachis cylindrical or obtusely 

 angled, mealy, clothed with spines like those on the Ivs. 

 W.Indies. G.C. 1872:1297. 



AA. Lvs. bifid at the apex. 



granatensis, Hort. (M. granadensis, Hort.). Lvs. 

 roundish oblong or roundish ovate, entire at the base, 

 bifid at the apex, evenly toothed along the edges; pet- 

 ioles and rachis with dark brown, needle-shaped, spread- 

 ing or reflexed spines, %-l in. long. Colombia. 



M. truncata, Brongn. Trunk about 20 ft.: Ivs. 4-5 ft. long, 

 eading, the petiole and trunk covered with brownish black 



ling, the petiole and trunk covered with brow-nish black 

 i; Ifts. smooth, prominently veined and beautifully dark 

 A fine showy Bolivian species scarcely known in the trade. 



JARED G. SMITH. 



N. TAYLOR.t 



MARTIUSELLA (after K. F. Ph. von Martius, 

 German botanist, 1794-1868; traveled in Brazil 

 1817-20, wrote Historia Naturalis Palmarum and 

 started the monumental work, Flora Brasiliensis, con- 

 tinued after his death by A. W. Eichler and I. Urban). 

 Sapotacese. An evergreen small tree from Brazil with 

 large alternate serrate Ivs.: fls. small in axillary clus- 

 ters; calyx 5-, rarely 4-parted; corolla rotate, 5-6- 

 lobed; stamens 5, inserted at the base of the corolla 

 opposite to the lobes and nearly as long as the corolla; 

 sometimes with staminodes between the petals; ovary 

 5-celled with short style: fr. subglobose, 3-5-seeded; 

 seeds compressed; cotyledons thin. Closely allied to 

 Chrysophyllum which is chiefly distinguished by its 

 smaller entire Ivs., the longer corolla-tube, shorter 

 stamens and the thick cotyledons, and also by the much- 

 branched habit. The only species is M. imperialis, 

 Pierre (Theophrdsta imperialis, Lind. Chrysophyllum 

 imperiale, Benth. & Hook.). See also p. 767, Vol. II. 

 Strict and simple, to 20 ft. high or more: Ivs. obovate- 

 oblong to oblong-oblanceolate, rounded at the apex, 

 serrate with strong parallel veins, stellate-pilose beneath 

 at first, becoming glabrous, 8 in. to 3 ft. long: fls. 

 yellowish green, }4 m - across, pedicelled, in axillary 

 sessile clusters: fr. subglobose, 1^ in. long, with a hard 

 thick flesh; seeds chestnut-brown, lustrous, about 1 in. 

 long and %in. wide. Brazil. B.M. 6823. I.H. 21 : 184. 

 Gt. 13:453. It can be grown outdoors only in frostless 

 regions; sometimes cult, in greenhouses for its large 

 handsome foliage. It flowers very rarely in cult., flow- 

 ering first in 1885 after it had been in cult, for 40 

 years. Prop, is by seeds or by cuttings in March when 

 the new growth is starting; the upper part of the plant 

 is cut into as many pieces as there are Ivs., the cuts 

 being made just below the base of the Ivs. ; the cuttings 

 are inserted in sand under glass with bottom heat; they 

 usually take a long time to form roots. 



ALFRED REHDER. 



