MEDINILLA 



MELALEUCA 



2021 



5-nerved, entire, acute, tinged red beneath: panicle 

 small and compact, lateral and terminal, the bracts 

 small and deciduous; fls. pale rose-color; petals obo- 

 vate; calyx turbinate, with minute teeth; filaments 



white and anthers 

 dark purple. Java. 

 B.M.4569. J.F.1:96. 



AA. Fls. white. 

 Curtisii, Hook. 

 Shrub with slender 

 drooping branches: 

 Ivs. with 2 nerves 

 beside the midrib 

 which run from the 

 base to the apex of 

 the If., sessile, oblong 

 or ovate-oblong, acu- 

 minate: bracts min- 

 ute, at the base of the 

 spreading branches : 

 fls. ivory-white, with 

 purple anthers, to 

 %in. across; calyx 

 globose and fleshy, 

 with a short limb, 

 petals nearly orbicu- 

 lar. Sumatra. B.M. 

 6730. G.C. II. 20: 

 621. G.Z. 28, p. 194. 

 chionantha, Stapf. 

 Glabrous shrub with 

 terete gray-brown 

 branches: Ivs. lance- 

 oblong, acuminate, 

 narrowed into a 

 very short decurrent 

 petiole, 3-nerved: 

 cymes axillary, some- 

 what umbellate, the 

 bracts minute and acute; fls snow-white; petals broadly 

 elliptic, obtuse, fleshy, %in. long. Malay Peninsula. 



There are many beautiful plants in this genus, but only a few of 

 them are in cult. The following may be expected: if. Sieboldiana, 

 Planch. Lvs. oblong, fleshy, opposite, strongly 5-nerved: fls. white, 

 ?4in. across, with purple stamens, in a drooping panicle. Moluccas. 

 B. M. 4650. R. B. 36, p. 38. M. specidsa, Blume. Dichotomous or 

 trichotomqus, the branches 3- or 4-angled: Ivs. mostly whorled, 

 nearly sessile, oval or oval-oblong, 5- or 7-nerved: fls. rose in a dense 

 terminal panicle. Java. B.M. 4321. F. S. 5:482. M. vendsa, 

 Blume. Branches terete: Ivs. relatively small, short-petioled, oblong- 

 acute, 7-nerved, rusty colored above, opposite: fls. rose-color, in 

 few-fld. cymes; petals oblique-obovate, acute. Malaya. R. B. 36, 



WILHELM MILLER. 



2345. Medinilla magnifica. ( X 1 A) 



MEDLAR: Mespilus. 



L. H. B.f 



MEGACLINITJM (Greek, large bed, because of the 

 ample rachis). Orchidacese. About 50 species of 

 African epiphytic orchids, nearly all tropical, requiring 

 the treatment given Bulbophyllum, which they resem- 

 ble in habit but from which they are distinguished by 

 having the bracts and fls. attached on either side a 

 flattened rachis and the lateral sepals shorter than the 

 curved free dorsal sepal: herbs with strong creeping 

 rhizome, pseudobulbs usually globose or ovoid and 

 bearing 1 or 2 Ivs. : fls. small, yellowish, brownish, pur- 

 ple, variously spotted, on the almost leafy end of the 

 scape that arises from the base of the pseudobulbs; 

 petals smaller and narrower than the sepals; lip jointed 

 to the foot of the column, mobile, entire, denticulate 

 or 3-lobed; column short, winged on both sides: scape 

 usually only a few inches high, sometimes 18 in. 



M. bufo, Lindl. (Bulbophyllum bufo, Reichb. f.). Rachis green, 

 long-linear, 8-9 in. long and \^m. wide, bearing small brownish fls. 

 with darker spots: lip dark purple, flat, the base ovate-orbicular. 

 Sierra Leone. G.C. 1841 : 348. M. Cldrkei, Rolfe. Rachis light 

 green in center and margined and spotted purple-brown, 6-7 in. 

 long, falcate-ensiform, obscurely repand-crenulate: fls. purple-brown 

 specked on green; lip recurved, the base ovate. W. Trop. Afr. M. 



eburneum, Pfitz. Scape as long as Ivs., and rachis as long as scape 

 and irregularly dilated: fls. and rachis yellowish white; ends of petals 

 and the dorsal sepal yellow. W. Afr. M. falcatum, Lindl. (Bulbo- 

 phyllum falcatum, Reichb. f.). Rachis brown-green, linear-oblong 

 and somewhat falcate, acute, thin-margined, 2-4 in. long: fls. dark 

 brown-red on upper parts and greenish yellow on lower segms. ; lip 

 triangular oblong, obtuse. Guinea. B. R. 989. M. leucorhachis, 

 Rolfe. Rachis white, \$,in. broad and 3 in. long, falcate-ensiform, 

 obscurely crenulate: fls. velvety yellow; lip recurved, the broad base 

 fimbriate. Upper Guinea. B. M. 7811. M. lutescens, Rolfe. Scapes 

 less than 2 in. long: rachis very narrow, 1} in. or less long: fls. 

 honey-yellow, small and nearly sessile: resembles M. minutum, but 

 the rachis much narrower and the dorsal sepal acuminate. W. Afr. 

 M. mdximum, Lindl. Rachis purple, 4-5 in. long and \fan. wide, 

 ensiform, undulate, the scapes 1-1 y in. long with tubular sheaths: 

 fls. purple; lip oblong, obtuse, the base broad and denticulate. 

 Guinea. B. M. 5936 (as M. purpuratum). M. minutum, Rolfe. 

 Very small, the scape only 1 % in. long, the rachis purple-brown, 

 oblong, crenulate, bearing about a dozen blooms: fls. dull maroon 

 and greenish yellow, fleshy; lip cordate-ovate, obtuse, reflexed at 

 apex. Upper Guinea. B. M. 7314. M. platyrhachis, Rolfe. Rachis 

 much dilated, 4-6 in. long and 1 in. broad, crenulate, greenish 

 yellow, spotted white and brown, lengthening in bloom: fls. many, 

 yellow-green; lip fleshy and tongue-shaped, recurved, the lateral 

 lobes small. Cent. Afr. B. M. 7946. M. purpuratum, Lindl.=M. 

 maximum. -M. purpurearhachis, Wildm. Large, the scapes lateral 

 and stout, 12-14 in. long: rachis broad and flat, undulate and slightly 

 twisted, purple-spotted: fls. brown, velvety outside; lip orbicular- 

 ovate, recurved and obtuse, flattened. Congo. B. M. 8273. M . 

 scab&rulum, Rolfe. Rachis dull white, shaded green and marked 



Eurple: fls. dull purple, the sepals shaded whitish green at base. 

 . W. Extra-trop. Afr. -M. ugdndx, Rolfe. Scape about 5 in. long: 

 rachis oblong, half length of scape, light green and heavily marked 

 with purple-brown: fls. small, with light green petals and sepals 

 similar in coloring to the rachis. Uganda. T TT R 



MEGARRHlZA: Echinocystis. 

 MEGASEA: Saxifraga. 

 MEIB6MIA: Desmodium. 



MELALEUCA (Greek, melas, black, and leukos, 

 white; from the black trunk and white branches of one 

 of the species). Myrtdcese. Shrubs and trees, often 

 with showy bloom, of high ornamental value for warm 

 temperate regions; especially useful where drought- 

 resistant shrubs are needed. 



Leaves alternate, rarely opposite, entire, lanceolate 

 or linear, flat or sub terete, with 1-3 or many nerves: 

 fls. in heads or spikes, rarely scattered, each sessile 

 in the axil of a floral If., their parts in 5's; calyx-tube 

 subglobose; lobes imbricate or open; petals spreading, 

 deciduous; stamens indefinite in number, more or less 

 united at their bases into 5 bundles opposite the petals; 

 anthers versatile, the cells parallel and bursting longi- 

 tudinally; ovary inferior or half-inferior, inclosed in the 

 calyx-tube, usually with many ovules in each cell; 

 maturing into a persistent caps. Related to Callis- 

 temon but distinguished by the united filaments: 

 shares with that genus the name of bottle-brush. 

 About 100 species of Australian shrubs and trees, some 

 inhabiting salty ground and swamps, others occupying 

 semi-arid slopes of the interior. Grown as specimen 

 and lawn plants, the larger species also for street trees 

 in Calif, and Fla. : M. Leucadendron and M. ericifolia 

 are recommended for fixing muddy shores and for 

 planting in alkaline soils. The timber is close-grained, 

 hard, and durable. Sixteen species are described and 

 figured in Univ. Calif. Pub. Bot. 4:27-34. For cult, 

 see Callistemon. 



alba, 8. 

 armillaris, 8. 

 Cajuputi, 6. 

 decussata, 5. 

 ericifolia, 11. 

 Huegelii, 10. 

 hypericifolia, 1. 



INDEX. 



incana, 14. 

 lateritia, 2. 

 latifolia, 6. 

 Leucadendron, 6. 

 linariifolia, 4. 

 minor, 6. 

 nesophila, 12. 



nodosa, 13. 

 oppositi folia, 1. 

 paryiflora, 9. 

 Preissiana, 9. 

 styphelioides, 7. 

 Wilsonii, 3. 



A. Infl. a cylindric spike (rarely head-like in Nos. 

 5 arid 11), or fls. somewhat scattered. 



B. Fls. red or scarlet. 



1. hypericifdlia, Smith (M. oppositifolia, Hort.). Fig. 

 2346. Tall glabrous shrub: Ivs. opposite, lanceolate or 



