MENTZELIA 



MERATIA 



2037 



A. Plant herbaceous. 

 B. Color of fls. white, creamy white or yellowish white. 



decapetala, Urban & Gilg (Bartonia decapetala., 

 Pursh. M. orndta, Torr. & Gray. Nuttdllia decapetala, 

 Greene). Biennial or perennial, 2 ft. and more: Ivs. 

 2-6 in. long, oval, lanceolate or oblong, sinuate-pinnati- 

 fid: fls. 5 in. across, opening toward night, fragrant, 

 usually bracted; petals 10; stamens 200-300: caps, 

 oblong, with numerous seeds. Dakota and Mont, to 

 Texas. B.M. 1487. R.H. 1878:430. 



nuda, Torr. & Gray (Nuttdllia nitda, Greene). Bien- 

 nial or perennial, st. somewhat slender, 1-5 ft. high: 

 Ivs. 1-3 in. long, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, acute, 

 strongly dentate or pinnatifid: fls. opening toward 

 night, creamy white, lJ^-2^ in. across, usually bract- 

 less; petals 10. Mont., Kans., and Texas. B.M. 5483 

 (as Bartonia nuda). 



BB. Color of fls. yellow. 



Lindleyi, Torr. & Gray (M. Bartonia, Steud. Bar- 

 tonia aurea, Lindl.). Fig. 2361. Annual: st. 1-4 ft. 

 high, simple or branched and straggling: Ivs. 2-3 in. 

 long, narrow-lanceolate to ovate, coarsely toothed or 

 pinnatifid: fls. about 2% in. across, bright yellow, very 

 fragrant in the evening, bracted, opening in evening and 

 remaining the following morning; petals 5, broadly 

 obovate, nearly as broad as long, rounded at the apex 

 except an abrupt short point. Calif. B.M. 3649. B.R. 

 1831. Gn.W. 21:504. 



laevicaulis, Torr. & Gray. BLAZING STAR. Biennial: 

 st. stout, 2-3 Yi ft. high: Ivs. 2-8 in. long, narrow-oblcng 

 to lanceolate, sinuate-toothed: fls. yellow, 2J^-3 in. 

 across, bractless; petals lanceolate or oblanceolate, 

 acuminate. Wyo. to Calif. 



AA. Plant shrubby. 



Conzattii, Greenm. Woody, 20 ft. and more: st. 

 whitish: lower Ivs. nearly opposite and upper alternate, 

 simple, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, finely dentate, 

 the base entire and narrowed into a short petiole, 

 scabrous above and tomentose beneath: fls. 2 in. across, 

 brilliant yellow and showy, cymose-paniculate; calyx 

 deeply 5-lobed; petals 5, ovate-oblong, short-acuminate. 

 S. Mex. Listed in S. Calif. L. H. B.f 



MENYANTHES (Greek, probably meaning month 

 flower; perhaps because it flowers for about a month). 

 Gentiandcese. BUCKBEAN. Perennial bog-plants. 



As understood by the older botanists, the genus has 

 two species, one of which is widespread in the U. S., and 

 the other in the Pacific N.W. to Japan, but later 

 botanists separate the latter plant as Nephrophyl- 

 lidium (N. crista-galli, Gilg). Menyanthes has creep- 

 ing rootstocks and small, 5-lobed white or purplish fls. 

 in late spring. It is allied to Nymphoides, but the fls. of 

 the latter are not bearded or crested on the face as they 

 are in Menyanthes. Lvs. all alternate, stalked: corolla 

 somewhat funnel- or bell-shaped; stamens inserted on 

 the tube of the corolla; hypogynous glands 5; style long. 



trifoliata, Linn. BUCKBEAN. About 9-18 in. high: 

 Ifts. 3, oval or oblong-obovate, to 3 in. long: raceme 

 12-20-fld. : caps, small, ovoid. Bogs, temperate regions 

 in N. Amer., Eu., and Asia. G.M. 43:335. G. 35:559. 

 V. 2:198; 3:208. The Ivs. are said to be used in Ger- 

 many as a substitute for hops in beer-making. A very 

 interesting bog-plant, growing often in shallow water. 



L. H. B. 



MENZIESIA (after Archibald Menzies, surgeon and 

 naturalist). Ericaceae. Low deciduous shrubs, allied to 

 Rhododendron, with small 4-merous fls. appearing with 

 the Ivs. in terminal clusters: corolla urceolate or bell- 

 shaped, 4-lobed; stamens 8: fr. a 5-valved caps, with 

 many linear caudate seeds. Seven species in E. Asia 

 and N. Amer. Interesting shrubs for alpine rockeries, 

 but not particularly ornamental. M. pilosa, Juss. 



(M. globularis, Salisb.), is sometimes offered by dealers 

 in native plants. Shrub, 2-6 ft.: Ivs. oval to oblong- 

 obovate, glandular-mucronate, entire, strigose, ciliate, 

 1-2 in. long: fls. few, drooping, on slender glandular 

 pedicels; corolla yellowish, often tinged reddish, J^in. 

 long; anthers included. May, June. Pa. to Ga. in the 

 mountains. B.M. 1571. For cult., see Andromeda 

 and Rhododendron. 



M. cxridea, Swartz=Phyllodoce cserulea. M. empetri/6rmis, 

 Smith=Phyllodqee empetriformis. M. pentdndra, Maxim. Shrub, 

 to 4 ft. : Ivs. elliptic : fls. subglobose, greenish white ; anthers exserted. 

 Japan. M. polifolia, Juss.=Dabcecia polifolia. 



ALFRED REHDER. 



MERATIA (after Francois Victor Merat, French 

 physician and botanist, 1780-1851). Syn., Chimondn- 

 thus. Calycanthacese. Ornamental shrubs, grown chiefly 

 for their early sweet-scented flowers; grown out-of-doors. 



Deciduous or evergreen, with scaly winter-buds: Ivs. 

 opposite, without stipules, short-petioled, entire: fls. 

 long before the Ivs., on scaly branchlets axillary on 

 branches of the previous year, with numerous imbricate 

 sepals and without petals; stamens 5 or 6, short, with 

 innate anthers; pistils many, inclosed in a hollow recep- 

 tacle which develops into a caps.-like fr. with numerous 

 achenes. Two species in China. Often united with 

 Calycanthus, which is easily distinguished by its naked 

 winter-buds and the numerous stamens of the fls. 

 which appear at the end of leafy shoots. 



The species in cultivation is a deciduous shrub, in 

 milder climates nearly evergreen, with generally oblong 

 lustrous leaves and with fragrant yellow flowers with 

 purple center appearing before the leaves in early spring. 

 It is hardy about as far north as Philadelphia and likes 

 a warm and sheltered position. See Calycanthus for 

 cultivation and propagation. 



praecox, Rehd. & Wilson (Calycanthus prsecox, Linn. 

 Chimondnthus fragrans, Lindl.). Lvs. elliptic-ovate or 

 Oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, bright green, lustrous 

 above, glabrous beneath, 3-5 in. long: fls. very fra- 

 grant, \-\Yi m - broad, outer sepals yellow, inner ones 

 striped purplish brown. Feb., March. China, Japan. 

 B.M. 466. L.B.C. 7:617. L.D. 3:173. G.C. III. 

 11:213. Gn.M. 5:141. Var. grandifldra, Rehd. & 

 Wilson (Chimondnthus fragrans var. grandifldra, 

 Lindl.). Fls. much larger and brighter-colored. B.R. 

 451. The evergreen M. nltens, Rehd. & Wilson 

 (Chimondnthus nltens, Oliver), with long-acuminate 

 Ivs. and smaller and paler fls. (H.I. 16:1600) is not 

 yet introduced. ALFRED REHDER. 



2361. Mentzelia Lindleyi. (XHl 



