MEDINILLA 



MELALEUCA 



2021 



5-nor\'ed, entire, acute, tinged red beneath: panicle 

 small and compact, lateral and terminal, the bracts 

 small and deciduous; fls. pale rdse-color; petals obo- 

 vate; calyx turbinate, with minute teeth; filaments 



white and anthers 

 W dark pvwple. Java. 



B.M.4.5(J!I. J. F. 1:96. 



AA. Fls. while. 

 Curtisii, Hook. 



Shrub with slender 

 drooping branches: 

 Ivs. with 2 nerves 

 beside the midrib 

 which run from the 

 base to the apex of 

 the If., sessile, oblong 

 or ovate-oblong, acu- 

 minate: bracts min- 

 ute, at the base of the 

 spreading branches: 

 fls. ivory-white, with 

 purple anthers, to 

 %in. across; calyx 

 globose and fleshy, 

 with a short limb, 

 petals nearly orbicu- 

 "Cf^ J - \-'> ■ r lar. Sumatra. B.M. 



^,- '/ •- :' > 6730. G.C. II. 20: 



621. G.Z. 28, p. 194. 

 chionantha, Stapf. 

 Glabrous shrub with 

 terete gray -brown 

 branches: Ivs. lance- 

 oblong, acuminate, 

 narrowed into a 

 very short decurrent 

 petiole, 3-nerved: 

 cymes axillary, some- 

 what umbellate, the 

 bracts minute and acute; fls snow-white; petals broadly 

 elliptic, obtuse, fleshy, ^s'in. long. Malay Peninsula. 



There are many beautiful plants in this genus, but only a few of 

 them are in cult. The following may be expected: M. Sieholdiana, 

 Planch. Lvs. oblong, fleshy, opposite, strongly .5-nerved: fls. white. 

 ^4in. across, with purple stamens, in a drooping panicle. Moluccas. 

 B. M. 4650. R. B. .36. p. :J8. — M. specidsa, Blume. Dichotomous or 

 trichotomous, the branches .3- or 4-angled: lvs. mostly whorled, 

 nearly sessile, oval or oval-oblong, .5- or 7-nerved: fls. rose in a dense 

 terminal panicle. Java. B.M. 4321. F. S. 5:482.— ,W. vendsa, 

 Blume. Branches terete: lvs. relatively small, short-petioled, oblong- 

 acute, 7-nerved, rusty colored above, opposite; fls. rose-color, in 

 few-fld. cymes; petals oblique-obovate, acute. Malaya. R. B. .30, 



P- ^- WiLHELM Miller. 



L. H. B.t 

 MEDLAR: Mespilus. 



MEGACLINIUM (Greek, large bed, because of the 

 ample rachisi. Orchidiiceae . About .50 species of 

 African epiphytic orchids, nearly all tropical, requiring 

 the treatment given Bulbophyllum, which they resem- 

 ble in habit but from which they are distinguished by 

 having the bracts and fls. attached on cither side a 

 flattened rachis and the lateral sepals shorter than the 

 curved free dorsal sepal: herbs with strong creeping 

 rhizome, pseudobulbs usually globose or ovoifl and 

 bearing 1 or 2 lvs.: fls. sm:ill, yellowish, browni.sh, pur- 

 ple, variously spotteil, on the almf)St leafy end of the 

 scape that ari.ses from the base of the pseudobulbs; 

 petals smaller and narrower than the .sepals; \\\i jointed 

 to the foot of the column, mobile, entire, denticulate 

 or 3-lobed; column .short, winged on both sides: scape 

 usually only a few inches high, .sometimes 18 in. 



M. biifo. Lindl. f Bulbophyllum bufo. Reichb. f. ). liachis green, 

 long-linear. S-9 in. long anrl •2in. wide, bearing small brownish fls. 

 wilh darker spots: lip dark purple, flat, the base ovate-orbicular. 

 Sierra Leone. G.C. 1841 ::j4S.— .V/. Cldrkei. Rolfe. Rachis light 

 green in center and margined and spotted purple-brown. 6-7 in. 

 long. falcate-en.siform, obscurely repand-crenulate: fls. purple-brown 

 specked on green: lip recurved, the ba.se ovate. W. Trop. Afr. — M. 



2345. Medinilla magnifica. 



ebtiTneum, Pfitz. Scape as long as lvs., and rachis as long as scape 

 and irregularly dilated: fls. and rachis yellowish white; ends of petals 

 an(l the dorsal sepal yellow. W. Afr. — M. falmtum, Lindl. (fJulbo- 

 phyllum falfTatuiii, Reichb. f. ). Rachis brown-green, linear-oblong 

 anil somewhat falcate, p.cute, tliin-niarji;incd, 2^ in. long: fls. dark 

 l)rown-red on upper parts and greenish yellow on lower aegms. ; lip 

 triangular oblong, obtuse. Guinea. B. R. 989. — M. leucorhachts. 

 Rulfe. Rachis white, }-:jin. broad and 3 in. long, falcate-ensiforni, 

 oijscurely crenulate: fls. velvety yellow; lip recurved, the broad base 

 fimbriate. Upper Guinea. B. M. 7811. — A/, littescena, Rolfe. Scapes 

 less than 2 in. long: rachis very narrow, 1 H in. or less long: fls. 

 honey-yellow, small and nearly sessile: resembles M. minutum, but 

 the rachis much narrower and the dorsal sepal acuminate. W. Afr. 

 — M. maximum. Lindl. Rachis purple, 4—5 in. long and J-^in. wide, 

 ensiform, undulate, the scapes 1-1 M in. long with tubular sheaths: 

 fls. purple: lip oblong, obtuse, the base broad and denticulate. 

 Guinea. B. M. 5936 (as M. purpuratum). — M. miniilum, Rolfe. 

 Very small, the scape only 1 J-2 in. long, the rachis purple-brown, 

 oblong, crenulate, bearing about a dozen blooms: fls. dull maroon 

 and greenish yellow, fleshy; lip cordate-ovate, obtuse, reflexed at 

 apex. L'pper Guinea. B. M. 7314. — M. platyrhachis, Rolfe. Rachis 

 much dilated, 4-6 in. long and 1 in. broad, crenulate, greenish 

 yellow, spotted white and brown, lengthening in bloom: fls. many, 

 yellow-green; lip fleshy and tongue-shaped, recurved, the lateral 

 lobes small. Cent. Afr. B. M. 7946, — M. purpuraltim, Lindl. =M. 

 maximum. — M. purpureorhdchia , Wildm. Large, the scapes lateral 

 and stout, 12-14 in. long: rachis broad and flat, undulate and slightly 

 twisted, purple-spotted: fls. brown, velvety outside; lip orbicular- 

 ovate, recurved and obtuse, flattened. Congo. B. M. 8273. — M. 

 scaberulum, Rolfe. Rachis dull white, shaded green and marked 

 purple: fls. dull purple, the sepals shaded whitish green at base. 

 S. W. Extra-trop. Afr. — M. uQdndse, Rolfe. Scape about 5 in. long: 

 rachis oblong, half length of scape, light green and heavily marked 

 with purple-brown: fls. small, with light green petals and sepals 

 similar in coloring to the rachis. Uganda. T IT R 



MEGARRHiZA: Echinocystis. 



MEGASEA: Saxifraga. 



MEIB6MIA: Dcsmodium. 



MELALEUCA (Greek, melas, black, and leukos, 

 white; from the black trunk and white branches of one 

 of the species). Myrtacese. Shrubs and trees, often 

 with showy bloom, of high ornamental value for warm 

 temperate regions; especially useful where drought- 

 resistant shrubs are needed. 



Leaves alternate, rarely opposite, entire, lanceolate 

 or linear, flat or subterete, with 1-3 or many nerves: 

 fls. in heads or spikes, rarely scattered, each sessile 

 in the axil of a floral If., their parts in 5's; calyx-tube 

 subglobose; lobes imbricate or open; petals spreading, 

 deciduous; stamens indefinite in number, more or less 

 united at their bases into 5 bundles opposite the petals; 

 anthers versatile, the cells parallel and bursting longi- 

 tudinally; ovary inferior or half,-infcrior, inclosed in the 

 calyx-tube, usually with many ovules in each cell; 

 maturing into a persistent caps. Related to Callis- 

 temon but distinguished by the united filaments: 

 shares with that genus the name of bottle-brush. — 

 About 100 species of Australian shrubs and trees, some 

 inhabiting salty ground and swamps, others occupying 

 semi-arid slopes of the interior. Grown as specimen 

 and lawn plants, the larger species also for street trees 

 in Calif, and Fla.: .1/. Leurmtnidrnn and M. ericifotia 

 are recommended for fixing muddy shores and for 

 planting in alkaline soils. The timber is close-grained, 

 hard, and durable. Sixteen species are described and 

 figured in Univ. Calif. Pub. Hot. 4:27-34. For cult, 

 see Callistemon. 



alba, 8, 

 armillaris, 8. 

 CajupuH. 6. 

 decussata, 5. 

 ericifolia, 11. 

 Huegelii, 10. 

 hypericifolia, 1. 



INDEX. 



incana, 14. 

 lateritia, 2. 

 tali/iiHa. 6. 

 Leucadendron, ( 

 linariifolia, 4. 

 minor, 6. 

 nesophila, 12. 



nodosa, 13. 

 oppofiilifolia. 1. 

 parvi flora, 9. 

 Preissiana, 9. 

 styphelioides, 7. 

 Wilsonii, 3. 



A. Infl. a cylindric apike {rarely head-like in Nos. 

 5 and 11), or fls. somewhat scattered. 



B. Fls. red or scarlet. 



1. hypericif61ia, Smith (jV/. o/jpo.stfi/oKa, Hort.). Fig. 

 2.346, 'r:dl glabrous shrub: lvs. ojipositc, lanceolate or 



