2038 



MERCURIALIS 



MERTENSIA 



MERCURIALIS (from Mercury, who is supposed to 

 have discovered some virtue in the plant). Euphor- 

 biacese. MERCURY. Herbaceous plants of temperate 

 regions, of little importance horticulturally. Lvs. 

 opposite, simple: fls. apetalous, very small, in axillary 

 clusters; calyx valvate; stamens 8-20, anther -cells 

 spherical, attached by the apex and hanging; styles 

 undivided; ovary 2-3-celled, 1 ovule in each cell. About 

 7 species, mostly in the Medit. region. Related to 

 Mallotus and Acalypha. M . dnnua, Linn., is a weed in 

 Eu. M. perennis, Linn., is a European poisonous plant, 

 the foliage yielding an unstable blue dye. 



J. B. S. NORTON. 



MERENDERA (from quita meriendas, Spanish name 

 of Colchicum autumnale; some of these plants formerly 

 considered to belong to Colchicum). Liliaceae. Small 

 spring-blooming plants, classed as "bulbs;" little 

 grown. 



About 12 species of bulbous plants, mostly natives of 

 the Medit. region and Asia, one in Abyssinia. They 



2362. Flowering branch of Merope angulata. (Natural size) 



belong to the same tribe with Colchicum and Bulbo- 

 codium, but Colchicum has a real corolla-tube, while 

 the other two genera have 6 very long-clawed segms. 

 which are merely connivent, forming a loose tube at first 

 and afterward separating. In Merendera there are 3 

 styles which are distinct from the base, while in Bul- 

 bocodium the style is 3-cut only at the apex. Meren- 

 deras are low stemless plants with tunicated conns: 

 Ivs. linear, appearing with the fls. : fls. 1-3, appearing in 

 spring or fall, mostly lilac-colored. The genus is 

 divided by Baker into two groups, based on the anthers. 

 The 2 species described below belong to the group with 

 small, oblong, versatile anthers, which are fastened at 

 the middle rather than the base. They are hardy spring- 

 blooming plants with about 3 Ivs., and fls. 1-1 y?, in. 

 across. These plants are procurable from Dutch bulb- 

 growers. They are pretty, small-fld., hardy, fragile 

 plants which persist well under good garden cultiva- 

 tion. The garden names are confused. M. ruthenica 

 is probably Bulbocodium ruthenicum, which is a form 

 of B. vernum. 



A. Blade of petals oblanceolate, obtuse. 



caucasica, Bieb. Lvs. 3-4, with the fls.: the 3 outer 

 corolla-segms. appendaged on each side at the junction 



of blade and claw: new corms sessile. Caucasus, Persia. 

 B.M. 3690. 



AA. Blade of petals lanceolate, acute. 



sobolif era, Fisch. & Mey. Lvs. 3, appearing with the 

 fls. : segms. not appendaged: a very small new conn pro- 

 duced at the apex of a shoot. Asia Minor, Persia. 

 The plant cult, under this name is Colchicum procurrens, 

 Baker, which differs from the Merendera in having a 

 long perianth-tube, autumnal fls., and Ivs. appearing in 

 spring. The true M. sobolif era may not be in cult. 



WILHELM MILLER. 

 L. H. B.f 



MEROPE (named for Merope, one of the Pleiades). 

 Rutacex. KIGERTJKKAN. A curious and as yet little- 

 known salt-resistant plant related to Citrus, of interest 

 for trial as a stock. 



Small spiny tree: Ivs. simple, thick and leathery; 

 spines in pairs in the axils of the Ivs. : fls. white, 5-mer- 

 ous with 10 free stamens: frs. triangular, having large 

 flattened seeds imbedded in the sticky mucilaginous 

 pulp. Only one species is known. 



angulata, Swingle (Citrus angulata, Willd. Sclerds- 

 tylisspindsa,Blume. Paramignya angulata, Kurz.). Fig. 

 2362. A small spiny tree bearing curious angular frs. 

 and growing in the tidal swamps in S. Java: Ivs. coria- 

 ceous, thick, 3-5 x 1-1^2 in-, borne on simple petioles: 

 fls. white, 5-parted with 10 free stamens, pistil project- 

 ing beyond the stamens: frs. triangular, 1-2 in. long, 

 in cross section approximately an equilateral triangle 

 %-l in. on a side. Illus. Kurz., Journ. As. Soc. Ben- 

 gal, 42 pi. 18 (1874). Valeton, Icon. Bogor, 4: pi. 348 

 (1912). Swingle, Journ. Wash. Acad. Sci. 5:420, figs. 

 1, 2 (1915). This peculiar thick-lvd. plant thrives in 

 saline soils and is being tested as a stock for other cit- 

 rous frs. by the U. S. Dept. Agric. 



WALTER T. SWINGLE. 



MERT^NSIA (after Franz Carl Mertens, a German 

 botanist). Boragindcese. Attractive herbs for colon- 

 izing and for borders. 



Perennials, glabrous or pubescent: Ivs. alternate, 

 often having pellucid dots: racemes terminal or the 

 cymes loose, few-fld., 1-sided, sometimes panicled; fls. 

 blue or purplish, rarely white, with funnelform or cam- 

 panulate corolla that is either crested or unappendaged 

 in the throat, the lobes 5 and similar and not much 

 spreading or the margin nearly entire; calyx 5-cut or 

 5-parted; stamens attached at the middle of the tube 

 or higher; ovary 4-lobed, the style filiform: frs. 4 erect 

 more or less wrinkled nutlets. Species probably 40, in 

 the cooler parts of the northern hemisphere, a good 

 part in N. Amer. In recent years, the American species 

 have been much redescribed. They are often very 

 smooth plants, of attractive habit and bright colors. 

 The most popular species is M . virginica, Virginia cow- 

 slip, bluebells, and Virginia lungwort. This grows 

 1-2 ft. high and bears more or less drooping clusters of 

 blue-belled fls. in March to May. The fls. are about 1 

 in. long, and 20 or more in a terminal group. They 

 have a purple tube and blue bell of distinct shape, the 

 lobes of the corolla being little pronounced. 



The common mertensia (M . virginica) is one of the 

 plants that should remain undisturbed for years, and 

 hence is suited to the rockery and to margins and 

 ravines. It is unusually good for colonizing in woods. 

 Its leaves die down soon after flowering-time. The plant 

 should have a sheltered position and rich loamy soil. 

 M. sibirica (of gardens) is considered by some even 

 more desirable. The flowers are later, light blue, and 

 not so distinctive in form. The foliage of M . sibirica lasts 

 through the summer. Mertensias may be propagated 

 by seed if sown as soon as ripe, but with uncertainty 

 by division. Although of secondary importance, mer- 

 tensias add variety to the border and are nearly always 

 attractive to plant-lovers. 



