2072 



MOSCHOSMA 



MUCKLAND-GARDENING 



Brown writes, "have hitherto been referred to Mos- 

 chosma, but they differ entirely from that genus in 

 habit, calyx and corolla, and in having unisexual 

 flowers, with the sexes on different plants. The small 

 size and form of the corolla and the arrangement and 

 spread of the stamens is somewhat like that of Mentha," 

 next which he considers this genus should be placed. 

 Iboza (Kafir name of /. riparia) has more than a 

 dozen species in S. and Trop. Afr.: fls. very small, 

 dio3cious, the males larger and bearing an abortive 

 ovary or style; calyx minute, 3-lobed; corolla very 

 small, with funnelform tube and more or less unequally 

 4-5-lobed limb; 

 stamens in male 

 fl. 4, free and 

 separate ; ovary 

 4-lobed: nutlets 

 erect, oblong or 

 ovoid, dorsally 

 compressed. 



2401. Morus rubra, a native mulberry ( X 1 A) 

 (See page 2071) 



Iboza riparia, N. E. Br., or Moschosma riparium, 

 Hochst. Stout, 2-5 ft., perennial, the st. branching 

 and obtusely 4-angled: Ivs. broadly ovate, most of 

 them notched at base and otherwise toothed: fls. very 

 numerous, in erect panicles above the foliage and there- 

 fore conspicuous although small, creamy white with 

 dark anthers. G.C. III. 31:122; 35:31. Gn. 61, p. 121; 

 65, p. 37; 69, p. 69. Gn.W. 20:90. G. 24:30. An 

 excellent bloomer under glass Dec.-Feb. After bloom- 

 ing, the plants may be cut back and good shoots 

 secured for cuttings for the next winter's bloom. It is 

 handled much like salvias and the species of coleus. 



L. H. B. 



MOSS. A general name for many humble green 

 plants of the cryptogamia (so-called flowerless plants), 

 mostly with distinct stems and foliage leaves. In North 

 America there are about 1,000 species, distributed in 

 various families. They have solitary, or rarely clustered, 

 mostly stalked spore-cases or capsules arising from the 

 apex or side of a leafy stem (Fig. 2402). The capsule is 

 covered with a thin cap or calyptra (c) which is shed at 

 maturity. The capsule opens by means of a lid or 

 operculum (o), and the orifice is usually guarded by 

 one or two rows of teeth, or peristome. A fuller discus- 

 sion of the structure and relationships of the mosses 

 will be found in Volume I, on page 6. The mosses are 

 not horticultural plants. Sphagnum moss is much 

 used as a packing material and for holding moisture 

 about pots, and as a medium in which to sow delicate 

 seeds, but it is collected from bogs and not grown for 

 the purpose. Club-mosses are not true mosses but 

 lycopodiums (see Lycopodium and Selaginella) . The 

 "moss" on fruit and other trees is mostly lichen. The 

 Florida or Spanish moss is a flowering plant (see 

 Tillandsia) . 



MOSS PINK: Phlox subulata. 



MOULDS, MOLD. The term mould is applied to 

 any small fungous growth which appears on decaying 

 organic matter, such as fruits, both fresh and pre- 

 served, vegetables, and so on. The moulds are very 

 simple fungi producing immense numbers of spores, a 

 fact which accounts for their presence everywhere, 

 in the air, in dust, and on all exposed bodies. As a 

 rule, these fungi are not directly injurious to plants; 

 they are normally saprophytes and perform a great 

 service in disorganizing organic matter which would 

 otherwise accumulate on the earth. A few of the 

 species may become parasitic. Thus, species of Botrytis 

 often attack lettuce in forcing-houses 

 which are too close and damp. Car- 

 nation buds and violet plants are also 

 frequently injured by Botrytis. The 

 mould-like growths occurring on 

 boards in damp cellars or in green- 

 house benches are sterile mycelia of 

 higher fungi. These do not attack 

 plants, but sometimes, as in the case 

 of violets, grow over and smother the 

 plants. The so-called sooty moulds 

 constitute the small family of the 

 Perisporiacese. They receive their 

 name from the fact that they form 

 dark olive-green or black coatings on 

 the twigs and leaves of plants on 

 which they grow. They are not para- 

 sitic but live for the most part on the 

 honey-dew secreted by insects and 

 sometimes on the insects themselves. Apparently little 

 direct damage is caused to plants by these fungi. 

 It has been found in laboratory experiments with 

 isolated leaves that those freed from the fungous 

 coating absorb more carbon-dioxide and liberate more 

 oxygen than leaves coated with the fungus. The 

 extent of injury arising from interference with physio- 

 logical processes on account of shading and the pos- 

 sible closing of the stomata under natural conditions 

 has not been generally determined, but it is certain 

 that orange and lemon trees sometimes suffer serious 

 injury, in fruit and foliage, brought about in this way. 

 The sooty moulds are mostly confined to tropical and 

 subtropical regions where they are abundant on many 

 kinds of plants. They occur occasionally in greenhouses 

 on coriaceous-leaved coolhouse plants, such as oleander 

 and evonymus, which were formerly more generally 

 grown. With the advent of present-day heating sys- 

 tems and the introduction of the practice of growing 

 rapidly shifting crops, these fungi, never of great 

 significance, have practically disappeared from green- 

 houses. The following are among the more common 

 forms of sooty moulds: Dimerosporium mangifera, on 

 mango; D. pulchrum, on privet, lonicera and cornus; 

 Apiosporium salicinum, common on leaves of woody 

 plants; A. Footii, on greenhouse plants; Capnodium 

 faedum, on oleander; C. guajavse on guava and other 

 tropical shrubs and trees; Meliola Penzigii causes con- 

 siderable injury to citrus trees in Florida by coating the 

 leaves and fruit. The numerous forms occurring in the 

 tropics have not been fully investigated. See, also, 

 Diseases and Fungi. HEINRICH HASSELBRING. 



MOUNTAIN-ASH: Sorlus Aucuparia. M.-Ebony: Bauhinia. 

 M.-Laurel: Kalmia, particularly K. latifolia. M.-Mahoe: Hibiscus 

 elatus. M. -Mahogany: Cercocarpus. M.-Mint: Pycnanthemum. 

 M.-Rose: Antigonon. 



MOURNING BRIDE: Scabiosa. 

 MOVING PLANT: Desmodium gyrans. 



MUCKLAND-GARDENING. In recent years 

 there has been a large development of truck-gardening 

 in swamps, bogs and similar areas that have been 

 drained and improved. These areas have deep black 



