2044 



MESPILUS 



METROSIDEROS 



2368. Medlar Mespilusger- 

 manica. (Natural size) 



elongated-oblong, pubescent, serrate: fls. large and 

 sessile on short leafy shoots, white or pinkish, pubes- 

 cent outside; styles usually 5, glabrous and distinct; 

 top of the hypanthium pubescent: fr. a pome with 

 open top bearing a more or less hairy disk and from 

 which the pyrenes or stones partially or slightly pro- 

 trude. Var. gigantea, Kirchn. (var. macrocdrpa, Hort.), 



is a large-fruited form. 

 Var. abortiva, Kirchn. 

 (var. apyrena, Koch), is a 

 seedless form. Cent, and 

 S. Eu. to the Caucasus, 

 and also wild in England 

 but probably not indige- 

 nous there. G. 4:363. It 

 hybridizes with Cratsegus 

 ( see Cratsego - Mespilus, 

 Vol. II, p. 878). 



The medlar is grown to 

 a considerable extent in 

 parts of Europe for its 

 acid fruits, but in this 

 country it is very little 

 known. It is perfectly 

 hardy in central New 

 York, and its cultivation 

 requires no special treat- 

 ment or skill. It makes 

 a twiggy tough -wooded 

 bush or small tree, 10 to 

 15 feet high, bearing large 

 white blossoms late in May or early in June, after the 

 leaves are full size. The foliage is soft and luxuriant. 

 The fruit (Fig. 2368) remains hard and austere until 

 mellowed by frosts. With the freezing and the incipient 

 decay, the fruit becomes brown and soft. It is usually 

 picked after it is touched by frost and laid away on 

 shelves or in drawers in a cool dry room; the ripening 

 process which follows is known as bletting. When 

 finally softened, it is agreeable for eating from the hand, 

 particularly for those who enjoy fruit-acids. It also 

 makes good preserves. Medlars are easily raised from 

 seeds, although seeds (like those of Cratsegus) may not 

 germinate the first year. On these stocks the named 

 varieties may be grafted or budded. Medlars may also 

 be worked on pear, thorn (Crata3gus) or quince. The 

 Dutch or Hollandish and the Nottingham are the lead- 

 ing varieties. The fruit of the former is often 2 J^ inches 

 in diameter. The latter is much smaller, but is better 

 in quality. There is also a seedless variety, and two 

 variegated forms. 



M. arbutifdlia, Linn.=Aronia arbutifolia. M. grandifldra, 

 Smith=Cratsegus grandiflora (see Vol. II, p. 888). M. japdnica, 

 Thunb.=Eriobotrya japonica. M. Pyracdntha, Linn.=Pyra- 

 cantha coccinea. M. Smithii, DC.=Cratsegus grandiflora. 



L. H. B. 



MESQUIT of Mexico is Prosopis juliflora (Legumi- 

 nosse). A picture of a mesquit forest is shown in G. F. 

 1:116. 



METAPLEXIS (Greek, referring to relationships of 

 the corona parts and stamens). Asdepiadacese. Three 

 twining shrubs of Japan, N. China and Siberia, little 

 grown: Ivs. opposite, cordate: fls. medium or small, in 

 pedunculate clusters. M. Stauntonii, Roem. & Schult. 

 (M. chinensis, Decne. not Turcz.), has acuminate 

 undulate Ivs.: racemes extra-axillary, peduncled, the 

 fls. pale rose or greenish white, small: likely to kill to 

 the ground and to send up long herbaceous blooming 

 shoots. China. G. 32:661. 



METH6NICA: Gloriosa. 



METROSIDEROS (Greek, heart of iron; this and 

 other genera of the myrtle family are called ironwoods). 

 Myrtacese. BOTTLE-BRUSH. Trees and shrubs, some- 



times climbers, more or less planted for the showy red 

 or white long-stamened flowers. 



Leaves coriaceous, mostly opposite, sometimes dis- 

 tichous: fls. red, crimson, or white, mostly in terminal 

 cymes or racemes; petals 5, spreading; stamens very 

 numerous, 1 in. or more long, much longer than the 

 petals; ovary 3-celled, with filiform style: fr. a coria- 

 ceous caps., inclosed in the persistent calyx-tube or 

 protruding, the seeds numerous, linear. The species 

 described below are coolhouse shrubs, and are rarely 

 grown outdoors in the S. The genus has about 20 

 species, half in New Zeal., and others in Pacific Isls. and 

 Austral., 1 in S. Afr. Some of the species are brilliant 

 when in bloom, although they have been only sparingly 

 intro. to cult. M. robiista is the remarkable "rata" of 

 New Zeal., of which Cheeseman writes: "A magnificent 

 tree ; sometimes reaching a gigantic size, specimens 

 having been measured with trunks over 20 ft. diam. It 

 usually (but not invariably) commences life as an 

 ephiphyte in the upper branches of some tall forest- 

 tree, sending to the ground aerial roots, which coalesce 

 and form a trunk after the death of the supporting 

 plant. Terestrial specimens are frequently seen, but 

 these either have no trunk at all, keeping during life 

 the habit of a much-branched bushy shrub, or produce 

 a short, hard, and durable wood, which is much employed 

 for wheelwrights' work, framework for machinery, 

 wagons, etc., and for shipbuilding." 



The plants belong to the class of Australasian shrubs 

 whose chief beauty lies in their long red stamens. They 

 are somewhat grown for a fancy Easter trade by florists, 

 largely from imported stock. They are allied to Callis- 

 temon, and at least some of the M. floribunda of the 

 trade is C. lanceolatus. In Metrosideros the flowers are 

 borne in dense two- or three-forked cymes, while in 

 Callistemon they are borne in spikes. In Fig. 745 (page 

 630) the plant is shown with apparently terminal 

 inflorescence, but the branch is really terminated by 

 the leaf-buds, which develop later. M. semperflorens, 

 Lodd.=Callistemon lanceolatus. M. speciosa, Sims= 

 Callistemon speciosus. 



The plant known to the trade as Metrosideros robusta, 

 Fig. 2369, and which is probably Callistemon lanceo- 

 latus, has been grown for many 

 years as a cool greenhouse plant, 

 but it is only within recent time 

 that Europeans have been sending 

 American florists the compact lit- 

 tle bushes that arrive with the 

 azaleas. The city florist can per- 

 haps dispose of one of these bottle- 

 brushes for every ten plants of 

 Azalea indica. Plants in 6-inch pots, 

 well flowered, fixed with a red 

 ribbon and placed in a modern bas- 

 ket, certainly look novel and attrac- 

 tive. The Belgians grow the young 

 plants in peat, as they do most hard- 

 wooded plants, but they do very 

 well in good turfy loam with a 

 fourth of leaf-mold. Cuttings of the 

 young growth may be struck in early 

 spring and planted out in good soil 

 by the end of May, but it is 

 cheaper to import stock. When the 

 plants arrive, soak the ball of roots, 

 pot firmly and place them in a 

 house of about 45. Freshly im- 

 ported plants cannot be forced in 

 much heat, like azaleas, or they will 

 shed their flowers. Watch them care- 

 fully, give them more heat gradu- 

 ally and they will bloom for Easter. 

 Plants unsold the first spring will be 

 much more satisfactory the second temorT lanceolatus of 

 year. By the end of April cut them the botanists. 



2369. Metrosideros 

 floribunda of the 

 trade, but Callis- 



