2tXiS 



MKlU^l'RIALIS 



MERTENSIA 



MERCURIALIS vl'rvmi Mi'icuiy, who is supposed to 

 have liisi-ovorxHl simu- virtue in the phuit). Eiiphor- 

 hu\cfa\ Mekoihy. Herbaeeous plants of temperate 

 regions, of httle iniportanee hortieultmally. Ias. 

 opfHvsite. simple: t\s. apn-talous, very small, in axillary 

 clusters: esUyx v;Jvate; stamens S-2(), aniher-eells 

 spherieal, attaeheii by the apex and lianKinn; styles 

 uuilividiHl; ovarv 2-:WeIled, 1 ovule in eai-h eell. About 

 7 siKH'ies, mostly in the Medit. n'nion. Helaletl to 

 Miulotus smd Aealypha. M. diuiim. Linn., is a weed in 

 Eu. M. pircnnif, Linn., is a European poisonous plant, 

 the foliage yielding an imstable blue dye. 



J. B. S. NOUTON. 



MEREND£RA (from qiiita mcrinuhx, Spanish name 

 of Colchicuiii autumnalc; some of these jjlants foniierly 

 considered to belong to Colehieuni). Lilidcta'. Small 

 spring-blooming plants, classed as "bulbs;" little 

 grown. 



Abo\it 12 species of bulbous plants, mostly natives of 

 the Medit. region and Asia, one in Abyssinia. They 



2362. Flowering branch of Mcrope angulata. (Natural eize) 



belong to the same tribe with Colchicum and Bulbo- 

 codium, but Colcliieum has a real oorolla-tube, while 

 the other two genera have C very loiig-eluwed segms. 

 which are merely connivent, fonning a loose tube at first 

 and afterward seijaraling. In Merendera there are 3 

 styles which are distinct from the base, while in Bul- 

 boco<lium the style is ;5-out only at the apex. Meren- 

 deras are low stemle.ss plant.s with timicated corms: 

 Ivs. linear, appearing with the fis.: fls. 1-U, appearing in 

 spring or fall, mostly lilac-oolored. The geiiu.s is 

 divided by Baker into two groups, ba-sed on the anthers. 

 The 2 species described below belong to t lie group with 

 small, oblong, versatile anthers, which are fastened at 

 the middle rather than the ba.se. They an^ hardy spring- 

 blooming plants with about 3 Ivs., and fls. 1-1 ' ^ i". 

 across. These plants are procurable from Dutch bulb- 

 growers. They are pretty, small-fid., liardy, fragile 

 plants which persist well under good garden cultiva- 

 tion. The garden names are confused. M. rulhimira 

 ia probably liulbocotlium riUhenicum, which is a form 

 of B. vernum. 



A. fiUule of peUds ohlariceolale, ohluse. 



caucSsica, Bieb. Lvs. 3-4, with the fls. : the 3 outer 

 coTolla-segms. appendaged on each side at the junction 



of blade an<l claw: new conns sessile. Caucasus, Persia. 

 B.M. 3li9t). 



AA. lihidf 1)/ pHnls lanceolate, acute. 



sobolifera, Fisch. A Mey. Lvs. 3, appearing with the 

 fls. : .segms. not appendaged : a very small new conn pro- 

 duced at the ajiex of a shoot. Asia Minor, Persia. — 

 The plant cult, vrnder this name is ('olchinim procurrens, 

 Raker, which dilTers from the Merendera in having a 

 long perianth-t\ibe, autumnal fls., and lvs, appearing in 

 spring. The true M. sobolifera may not be in cult. 



WiLHELM Miller. 

 L. H. B.t 



MEROPE (name<l for Merope, one of the Pleiades). 

 Rulaccii'. KioEKUKKAN. A curious and as yet little- 

 known salt-resistant plant related to Citrus, of interest 

 for trial as a stock. 



Small spiny tree: lvs. simple, thick and leathery; 

 spines in i)airs in the axils of the lvs.: fls. white, ,5-mer- 

 ous with 10 free stamens: frs. triangular, having large 

 flattened seeds imbedded in the sticky mucilaginous 

 pulp. — Only one species is known. 



angulata, Swingle (Cilnis a/igulala, Willd. Sclerds- 

 tylis spindsa, Blume. Parant'Hpiyaangulfita, Kurz.). Fig. 

 23G2. A small spiny tree bearing curious angidar frs. 

 and growing in the tidal swamps in S. Java: lvs. coria- 

 ceous, thick, 3-5 X 1-1} 2 in., borne on simple petioles: 

 fls. white, .'i-parted with 10 free stamens, pistil projects 

 ing beyond the stamens: frs. triangular, 1-2 in. long, 

 in cross section approximately an equilateral triangle 

 54-1 in. on a side. Illus. Kurz., Journ. As. Soc. Ben- 

 gal, 42 pi. 18(1874). Valeton, Icon. Bogor, 4: pi. 348 

 (1912). Swingle, .Joum. Wash. Acad. Sci. 5:420, figs. 

 1, 2 (1915). — This peculiar thick-lvd. plant thrives in 

 saline soils and is being tested as a stock for other cit- 

 rous frs. by the U. S. Dept. Agric. 



W'altek T. Swingle. 



MERTENSIA (after Franz Carl Mertens, a German 

 botanist). Boraginacex. Attractive herbs for colon- 

 izing and for borders. 



Perennials, gkabrous or pubescent: lvs. alternate, 

 often having pellucid dots: racemes terminal or the 

 cymes loose, few-fld., 1-sided, sometimes panicled; fls. 

 blue or purplish, rarely white, with funnelform or cam- 

 panulate corolla that is either crested or unappendaged 

 in the throat, the lobes 5 and similar and not niuch 

 spreading or the margin nearly entire; calyx 5-cut or 

 5-parted; stamens attached at the middle of the tube 

 or higher; ovary 4-lobed, the style filiform: frs. 4 erect 

 more or less wrinkled nutlets. — Species probably 40, in 

 the cooler parts of the northern hemisphere, a good 

 part in N. Amer. In recent years, the American species 

 have been much redescribed. They are often very 

 smooth plants, of attractive habit and bright colors. 

 The most popular species is M. virginica, Virginia cow- 

 slip, bluebells, and Virginia lungwort. This grows 

 1-2 ft. high and blears more or less drooping clusters of 

 blue-belled fls. in March to May. The fls. are about 1 

 in. long, and 20 or more in a terminal group. They 

 have a pur]>Ie tube and blue bell of distinct shape, the 

 lobes of the corolla b(Mng little pronounced. 



The common inertensia (M . virginica) is one of the . 

 plants that should remain unflisturbed for years, and 

 hence is suited to the rockery and to margins and 

 ravines. It is unusually good for colonizing in woods. 

 Its leaves die down .soon after flowering-time. The plant 

 should have a sheltercfl position and rich loamy soil. 

 M. sihirica (of gardens) is considered by some even 

 more flesirable. The flowers are later, light blue, and 

 not so distinctive in fonn. The foliage of M . sibirica lasts 

 tlirough the summer. Mcrtensias may be propagated 

 by .st^ed if sown as soon as rijjc, but with uncertainty 

 by division. Although of secondary imi)ortance, mcr- 

 tensias add variety to the border and are nearly always 

 attractive to plant-lovers. 



