256 DICTIONARY OF POPULAK NAMES MAGUEY 



girth of 3 feet. 2. Magnolia glauca, a low, bushy, deciduous tree, 

 called Swamp Sassafras. Its flowers are highly fragrant. It 

 is also called Beaver Tree ; the wood being soft, the beavers 

 make their dams of it. 3. M. macrophylla, a large-leaved deci- 

 duous tree, rare in this country. 4. M. acuminata, the Cucumber 

 tree — 5. 31. trijMtala, Umbrella tree — 6. M. auriculata — 7. 

 M. corclata, are, with the exception of the first, all hardy de- 

 ciduous trees, of which a few years ago some fine specimens 

 were to be seen in the Eoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 



Of those natives of China, M. conspicua, as its name denotes, 

 is the most conspicuous. It is called Yulan. It is deciduous, 

 and attains a height of 40 or 50 feet, much branched, and has 

 pure lily-like flowers, produced before the leaves expand, in such 

 profusion that at' a distance it appears one compact sheet of 

 white. It was introduced in 1789, and one of the original plants 

 is still growing at Kew, but now much shorn of its beauty by 

 having been transplanted. 



Maguey Fibre. {See Aloe, American.) 



Mahaleb (Cerasus Mahalch), a kind of cherry, of the Almond 

 and Plum family (Drupaceoe), native of Southern Europe. Its 

 wood is highly prized by cabinetmakers. The plant is cultivated 

 near Baden for walking-sticks and fancy smoking pipes. 



Maharanga, a name in India for a red dye obtained from 

 Onosma Emodi, a strong-rooted perennial of the Borage family 

 (Boraginacese). It is indigenous to Thibet, and may be obtained 

 in abundance. Its roots, like alkanet, yield a brilliant red 

 colour to oil. It is employed for staining wood a mahogany 

 colour, and is known in the Indian bazaars by the name of 

 Ptutton Root. 



Mahoe. {See Bast, Cuba.) 



Mahogany, American (Sivietenia MaJiagoni), a large tree of 

 the Mahogany family (Cedrelaceae), with winged, dark-coloured, 

 ash-like leaves, native of Jamaica and Central America. It 

 forms an important article of trade with the Republic of British 

 Honduras, from whence occasionally very large logs are received, 

 sometimes measuring 20 or more feet in length, and 4 or 5 feet 



