204S 



MICROLEPIA 



MICROSTYLIS 



MICROLEPIA ^G^^H>k, a smatl scale: alluding to the 

 iiuiusiuiii>. I'olyimliiicai. A gc-mis of si":"'!'?!!' grocii- 

 houso foriis. allii-il to Dav:\lli:i, but liaviiis; I lie shallow, 

 h!ilf-fU()-sha)H\l, niombfanous iiulvisiuin attaclu'd to tlif 

 siiios :is well as the ba^o: the stalks aiv also lontinuous 

 with the rootstook, ami not joined to them, as in the 

 true davalli:u<. — Twent>- or move speeies are known. 

 For eult.. stv Dafattia. 



A. Li's. once-pinnate. 

 marginata, C. Clir. (^f. marffindlis, Baker. M. 

 sciibra. Hort.). Rootstoek ereepin^: Ivs. 18-24 in. long, 

 9-15 in. wide, with linear piniue. which aiv eut about 

 h:df-\vay to the raehis into blunt ish, oblong lobes. 

 Ceylon to China. 



\A. Lvs. Iri-quadripinnatifid. 



platyphylla, J. Smith. Rootstoek stout, sealy: lvs. 

 3-4 It. long, on stout stalks, tripinnatifid; ultimate 

 divisions broad, bluntish, toothed, oblong, deltoid; ,sori 

 2-12 to a segm., 1 in each tooth. India to Japan. 



turta, Presl. Lvs. 3-6 ft. long, on stout stalks, tri- 

 quaih-iijinnatifid; ultim;>te divisions oblong, broadly 

 toothed; rachises hairy or pubescent; sori 2-20 to a 

 segni., 1 or more together at the base of each tooth. 

 India and Polynesia. Var. cristata is also offered by 

 the trade. F. 1878, p. f)!). Gn. 31, p. 428. F.R. 1:769. 



L. M. Underwood. 



MICROLOMA {small fringe, referring to the hairs 

 in the corolla-tube). AxdejyiaddceR'. Slender-stemmed 

 twining perennials, or sometimes dwarf little shrubs, 

 little known in cidt.: lvs. small, oppo.site: fls. mostly 

 pink or red, in small subaxillary umbel-form cymes: 10 

 species Ln S. Ah. M. tmuifdlium, Schum., has a clus- 

 ter of stout fle.shy roots, partially herbaceous, glabrous 

 St., hnear revolutc lvs., urn-shaped somewhat fleshy 

 carmine-red corolhis with tube 2J/2 in. long. B.M. 

 8248. 



MICROMELES: Sorbus. 



MICROMELUM (from the Greek for small and 

 apple). RuUifcu. Small .syjinelcss trees or shrubs dis- 

 tantly related to Citrus, of interest for breeding experi- 

 ments and trial as stocks. 



Leaves odd-pinnate; Ifts. 3-9, alternate, ovate or 

 obtusely aciuninate: infl. a many-fid. terminal cyme 

 or corymb; fis. 4-5-parted: fr. small, like a large pea, 

 ,5-celled with 1-2 ovules in each cell. The genus 

 ranges from Indo-China throughout India and the 

 Malay Archipelago, and includes several species. They 

 should be intro. into the U. S. for trial in breeding 

 experiments. \V.\LTEn T. Swingle. 



MICROMERIA (small part; small-flowered). Lahi- 

 dUf. Small more or less trailing or decumbent peren- 

 nial herbs and subshrubs, sometimes planted in bor- 

 ders and rock-gardens. 



Leaves u.sually small, entire or toothed: whorls 

 axillary or in terminal .spikes; fls. .small; calyx tubular 

 and mostly 13-nerved, .5-toothed, somewhat 2-lipped; 

 corolla 2-hpped, upper lip erect, fiattish, entire or 

 notched, lower .spreading, 3-lobed; stamens 4, didyn- 

 amous; style 2-parted at apex: nutlets .smooth, 

 ovoid or oblong. — Species 60 or mfire in northern extra- 

 tropical countries, particularly in the Medit. region. 

 By some authorities, the genus is included in Satureia. 

 Of simple cultural requirements. Prop, by division as 

 well a-s by seeds. 



A. Fls. few in the axils. 

 Cbamissdnis, Greene (M. Doiiylasii, Benth. Tfnjmus 

 Chamissimis, Benth.). Yerba Bxibna. Perennial: sf.s. 

 long, slender, trailing and creeping, with sweet-scented 

 round or oval lvs., 1 in. or less across: fls. purplish, 

 mostly solitary in the axils, on long 2-bracted pedicels. 



W'oodlands, from Vancouver Isl. to S. Calif. — Sandy soil. 

 Roots by stolons. 



Piperella, Benth. (Thi/mus Pipei-Ula, Ml.). Fig. 2371. 

 \ iV.w ini'lu's high, with slender arching branches: lvs. 

 ovate, more or less cordate, sessile: fls. purple-and- 

 white in few-tld. lax ])eiluncled .secund fascicles; corolla 

 lightly pubescent. S. Ku.- A partially shrubby rock- 

 garden ijlant; prop, by cuttings. 



aa. Fls. 



rupestris, Benth. 



immIv at tlic base 



numerous in the axils. 



A dense, low-growing perennial, 

 with prostrate sts., which turn up 

 at the extremities, 

 giving a heath-like 

 effect when in 

 bloom: lvs. with the 

 odor and taste of 

 pennyroyal: fls. 

 abundant, small, 

 white, with laven- 

 der spots on the 

 inner side of coroUa- 

 lobes, borne for 

 several inches along 

 the sts. S. Eu. — 

 Prop, from cuttings and seeds. It blooms from July 

 until heavy frosts, and proves very satisfactory for 



2371 



Micromeria Piperella. 



(Flower X'/i) 



rockery and informal border. 



L. H. B.f 



MICROPHffiNIX (small Pha-nix). Palmacex. A 

 name applied to two hybrid palms that were described 

 some thirty years ago. M. dedpiens, Naudin, is a hybrid 

 between Phoenix daclylifera and Chamserops humilis; and 

 M. Sahiilii, Carr., between the foregoing (M. decipiens) 

 and Trachycarpus excelsus, with the violet-colored 

 petioles and fruit of the latter parent. R.H. 1885, 

 p. 513. 



MICROSPfiRMA: Eucnide. 



MICROSTYLIS (Greek, small style). Syn., .4c;/ro- 

 dnlhus. Orchidacese. Mostly terrestrial orchids, some- 

 times grown under glass, and the hardy kinds perhaps 

 transplanted to the bog-garden; some of the exotic 

 species have colored foliage. 



Deciduous, low plants, with fleshy roots, solid bulbs, 

 or some of the kinds with pseudobulbs: lvs. plicate or 

 membranaceous (in some species only 1): fis. mostly 

 small, usually greenish or yellowish but often oddly 

 shaped, in a terminal raceme, spike or umbel, with small 

 and narrow bracts; sepals free, spreading and nearly 

 equal; petals about the length of the sepals but very 

 narrow or even filiform; lip sessile and erect or spread- 

 ing, shorter than petals but often very broad, entire or 

 fimbriate or 2-3-lobed, cordate or ovate or auricled at 

 base; poUinia 4, in pairs: fr. a small ovoid beakless caps. 

 — Species more than 100, in many parts of the world, 

 largely in the North Temperate Zone and some of 

 them tropical; a few species occur in the U. S. and 

 Canada. None of the species seems to be regularly in the 

 American trade, but a few are offered abroad by orchid 

 specialists. 



The species of microstylis are deciduous orchids. 

 They grow well in the warm end of the cattleya depart- 

 ment, or better still treated like thunias or calanthes,— 

 a rather warm moist atmosphere when growing in 

 spring, reducing the same toward late summer as they 

 begin to lose their foliage, antl eventually resting them 

 quite dry in a temperature of about 60° F. during winter. 

 They will probably suffer in a Wardian case or bell- 

 glass. They certainly will after growth is completed, 

 if not at all times. (Robert M. Grey.) 



M. ralajihyllit, Reichb. f. 9 in.: fls. yellowish: lvs. ovate, 

 undulato, spotted Krecn, greenish brown in center and the margin 

 gray-green: pseudobulb conical. Malaya. — M. congfstn, Reichb. f. 

 (M. liernaysii, F. Muell. M. fnsca, Reichb. f.). One foot: fls. 

 greenish yellow, in a dense cylindrical raceme or spike: lvs. green. 



