2056 



MIMUSOPS 



MIRABILIS 



high, and several of them yield hard and durable 

 timber. A few species have been somewhat advertised 

 in S. Calif, and S. Fla., but their cult, in this country is 

 of small account. The sapodillo (which see) is a closely 

 allied tree. 



Kauki, Linn. (M. dissecta, Hook. M. Hookeri, 

 A. DC. M. Bojeri, A. DC. Kaukenia Kauki, Kuntze). 

 Tree, 20-35 ft., the young branches gummy, lightly 

 pubescent: Ivs. crowded at ends of branches, obovate- 

 elliptic, or ovate, 4 in. long, long-petioled, obscurely 

 nerved, silky-white beneath: fls. clustered on tomen- 

 tose twin or solitary pedicels not exceeding the petiole; 

 corolla J^in. long, with 18 narrow acute lobes or petals, 

 the exterior narrower; calyx-lobes 6; staminodes 6-8, 

 lobed or serrate; sta- 

 mens 6-8; ovary 6-7- 

 celled : berry about 

 4-seeded, to 1 in. 

 diam., obovoid and 

 smooth. Birma to 

 Malaya. B.M. 3157. 

 Cultivated in West 

 Indies. 



Balata, Miq. 

 (Achras Balata, Aubl. 

 M. bidentdta, A. DC. 

 M. Pierreana, Baill.). 

 Tall tree, to 100 ft. : 

 Ivs. petioled, oblong- 

 lanceolate, elliptic or 

 oblong-obovate, acu- 

 minate or obtuse, 

 about 4 in. long, 

 grayish velutinous or 

 nearly glabrous 

 beneath, lightly very 

 many -nerved: pedi- 

 cels 10 or more, 

 somewhat shorter 

 than the petioles : 

 calyx-lobes or sepals 

 6, grayish velutinous 

 on the back; corolla- 

 lobes 6 or 8 and more, 

 the exterior ones 2- 

 lobed or -parted and 

 denticulate; stamens 

 6 or 8; staminodes 

 lobed or denticulate; 

 ovary 8 - 10 - celled : 

 berry ovoid, about 1 

 in. long. W. Indies 

 and S. It is a vari- 

 able species, with a 

 number of named 



2377. Four-O'clock. Mirabilis Jalapa. 



botanical varieties in the W. Indies. The M . globosa of 

 lists probably belongs here. . 



C6mmersonii, Engler (M. coriacea, Miq. Imbri- 

 caria coriacea, A. DC.). Tree: Ivs. oval-oboyate, retuse, 

 short-petioled, entire, shining above and slightly pilose 

 beneath, coriaceous: pedicels solitary, or twin, axil- 

 lary, much shorter than Ivs. : outer calyx-lobes reddish 

 pubescent outside but nearly glabrous inside, the inner 

 ones narrower and white-velvety. Madagascar. Said 

 to be intro. in S. Calif. 



parvifolia, Radlk. (M. Sieberi, Chapm., Gray, et 

 al. M . floridana, Engler. M. bahamensis, Pierre. The 

 M. Sieberi, A. DC., is a form of M. Balata.). WILD 

 DILLY. Becoming 35 ft. tall: Ivs. elliptic to obovate, 

 retuse, green, 2-4 in. long, slightly revolute, slender- 

 petioled: corolla-segms. 6, oblong and exceeding the 

 narrow appendages; fertile stamens 6; staminodia 

 short-triangular, nearly entire: fr. nearly 1 in. diam., 

 brownish or yellowish, maturing in autumn, said to be 

 edible. Fla. Keys to Trinidad. 



Elengi, Linn. Tall tree (becoming 50 ft.) : Ivs. elliptic 

 and short-acuminate (3-3^ in. long), rhomboid at the 

 base, petiole %in. long: corolla-lobes about 6, narrow- 

 lanceolate; fertile stamens 8; staminodia pilose, acute, 

 entire or nearly so: fr. 1 in. or less, ovoid, 1- or 2-seeded, 

 yellow, edible. E. Indies. 



dispar, N. E. Br. Smaller tree than M. Elengi: Ivs. 

 small, cuneate-oblanceolate, obtuse, rusty-tomentose 

 when young, but become glabrous-green, the petiole 

 Kin. or less long, and the blade %-2 in. long: fls. 12-16, 

 in umbels on the tips of the branches; sepals 6-8, in 

 two series; petals 18-24, in three series, linear-lanceo- 

 late, yellow; stamens 6-8; staminodia lanceolate- 

 acuminate channelled: fr. size of an olive, yellow. 

 Natal. Intro in S. Calif. L jj_ g g 



MlNA: Quamoclit. 



MINKELERSIA (Dr. Minkelers, professor of physics 

 in the University of Louvain). Leguminosse. Creeping 

 or twining herbs of very few species, in Mex. Hooker 

 writes that "the genus is considered by Bentham to be 

 little more than a section of Phaseolus, distin- 

 guished by its longer calyx-lobes, and the elongate 

 petals." None of the species seems to be regu- 

 larly in cult. The following has been recently 

 '' described. M . biflora, Hemsl., has a tuberous root 

 and long very slender twining sparsely hairy st. : 

 Ifts. 3, nearly equal, orbicular-ovate, obtuse: fls. 

 \}/2 in. long, pale red-purple, 2 on each axillary 

 peduncle: pod linear and straight, containing very 

 small seeds. Mex. B.M. 7819. 



MINT: Mentha. 



MINT GERANIUM : Chrysanthemum Balsamita. 



MIRABILIS (The old name was Admira- 

 bilis, meaning wonderful, strange; shortened 

 by Linnaeus to Mirabilis). Nyctaginacese. In- 

 teresting flower-garden herbs. 



The fls. have no corolla, but the calyx is 

 colored and tubular and exactly like a corolla in appear- 

 ance. The fls. are surrounded by a leafy involucre, and 

 sometimes (as in M. Jalapa) only 1 fl. is borne in an 

 involucre, simulating a corolla in a 5-cleft calyx; sta- 

 mens 5 or 6, as long as the perianth, their filaments 

 united at the base; style 1, with a capitate stigma: fr. 

 hardened, caps.-like and indehiscent. About a dozen 

 species in the warmer parts of Amer.; or twice that 

 number if Oxybaphus is included. The species of Mira- 

 bilis are perennial herbs, although grown as annuals 

 from seeds, with Ivs. petioled and opposite, and fls. 

 solitary or paniculate and nearly or quite sessile in the 

 involucres. 



A. Involucre containing only 1 fl.: plant glabrous or very 



nearly so. 



Jalapa, Linn. FouR-O' CLOCK. MARVEL OF PERU. 

 Fig. 2377. Erect-bushy quick-growing herb, germina- 

 ting readily from the large conical-oblong frs., 2-3 ft. 

 high, bearing profusely in late summer and fall long- 

 tubed funnelform fls. in white and shades of red and 

 yellow, and striped, opening in cloudy weather or late 

 in the afternoon (whence the common name four- 

 o'clock), and closing in the morning: Ivs. ovate-lanceo- 

 late, short-petioled, acuminate, entire: fls. in clusters 

 amongst the Ivs.; stamens not exserted. Trop. Amer. 

 B.M. 371. G. 2:499. Cult, from early times, and 

 always a favorite. In the tropics it has tuberous roots, 

 and these were once supposed to be the source of jalap, 

 whence the name Jalapa. There are dwarf and com- 

 pact varieties; also forms with variegated foliage. The 

 four o'clock is an "old-fashioned" fl. It is treated as a 

 tender annual, thriving in any garden soil. It is a use- 

 ful plant for growing in a hedge (plants 1 ft. apart) at 

 the rear of the fl.-garden. Sometimes it comes up in the 



