205G 



MIMUSOPS 



MIRABILIS 



high, aiul s»>vor:il of Ihom yioKl hard and durahlo 

 timber. A few sjuH-ies have boon sdnunvhat advorl iscil 

 in S, I'alif. and S, Fla.. but thoir cult, in this country is 

 of small aci'oui\t. The tyipodillo (.which see) is a closely 

 allie<l tr\x>. 



Kadki, Linn. (M. 'tii.inicUt. Hook. M. Hnokcri, 

 A. IX'. M. lidjfri, A. DC. Kaiikiiiia Kaiiln, Kuntze). 

 Tree, 20-3"> ft., the young branches s"nnuy, lifihlly 

 p\ilH>soent: Ivs. crowded at ends of branches, oliovale- 

 olhptic, or ovate, 4 in. lonj;. lonfi-i>etiiilcd. oliscurely 

 nerved, silky-white beneath: lis. clustered on tonien- 

 tose twin or solitary pedicels not exccedinj; the petiole; 

 corolla 'sin. long, with IS narrow acute lobes or petals, 

 the exterior narrower; calyx-lobes (i; staniinodes tJ-S, 

 IoIhxI or serrate; .sta- 

 mens (>-S ; ovary t)-7- 

 oelled : berry aliout 

 4-socdeil, to 1 in. 

 di:un., obovoid and 

 smooth. Uirma to 

 M:Uay;». B.M. .31.57. 

 Cultivated in West 

 Indies. 



Bal&ta, Miq. 

 (Achras Batata, Aubl. 

 .U. bidcnlala, A. DC. 

 M. Pierrcana, Haill.). 

 Tall tree, to 10() ft.: 

 Ivs. pctioled, oblong- 

 lanoeolatc, eUiptic or 

 oblong-obovate, acu- 

 minate or obtuse, 

 about 4 in. long, 

 grayish vclutinous or 

 nearly p la b r o u s 

 beneath, lightly very 

 many -nerved: pedi- 

 cels 10 or more, 

 somewhat shorter 

 than the petioles: 

 calyx-lobes or .sepal.s 

 C, grayish vclutinous 

 on the back; corolla- 

 lobes 6 or 8 and more, 

 the exterior ones 2- 

 lobed or -parted and 

 denticulate; stamens 

 6 or 8; staminodes 

 lobed or denticulate; 

 ovary 8-10-cellcd: 

 berrj' ovoid, about 1 

 in. long. \V. Indies 

 ami S. — It is a vari- 

 able species, with a 

 number of named 

 botanical varieties in the W. Indies. The M. yliihosii of 

 lists probably belongs here. 



Commersonii, Engler (M. coriAcea, Miq. Imhri- 

 airin roriacrn, A. D('.). Tree: Ivs. oval-obovate, ret vise, 

 short -fMJtioled, entire, shining above and slightly pilose 

 b<;neath, coriaceous: pedicels solitary, or twin, axil- 

 lar\', much .shorter than Ivs.: outer calyx-lobes reddish 

 f)uf)escent outside but nearly glabrous inside, tlie inner 

 ones narrower and white-velvety. Madagascar. — Said 

 to be intro. in S. Calif. 



parvifdlia, Ra<llk. (M. Sieberi, Chapm., Gray, et 

 al. M. ilori/lana, Engler. M. hahamcnsis, Pierre. The 

 M. Si'eheri, A. DC, is a form of M. Balala.). Wii.d 

 Dll,LY. Becoming 35 ft. tall: Ivs. elliptic to obovate, 

 retu.se, green, 2-4 in. long, slightly revolute, slender- 

 petioled: corolla-segms. fj, oh)long and exceediiig the 

 narrow appendages; fertile stamens 6; staininodia 

 short-triangular, nearly entire: fr. nearly 1 in. diam., 

 brownish or yellowisli, maturing in autumn, said to be 

 edible. Ha. Keys to Trinida<l. 



M!nA: Qu„ 



Elengi, Linn. Tall tree (becoming .'iO ft.): Ivs. elliptic 

 and short-acuminate (^J-.'i'; >"■ long), rhomboid at the 

 biuse, petiole ''.lin. long: corolla-lobes about tl, narrow- 

 lanceolate; fertile stamens S; staminodia pilo.se, acute, 

 entire or nearly so: fr. 1 in. or less, ovoid, 1- or 2-seeded, 

 yellow, edible. Iv Indies. 



dispar, N. K. Hr. Smaller tree than M. Ettngi: Ivs. 

 small, cuneate-oblanceolale, olitu.sc, ru.sty-tomentose 

 when young, but become glaliro\is-grcen, the petiole 

 J^iin. or less long, and the blade -'i 2 in. long: lis. 12-1(), 

 in umbels on the tijjs of the branches; .se]).-ils (1-8, in 

 two .scries; petals 18-24, in three series, linear-lanceo- 

 late, yellow; st.amens 6-8; staminodia lanceolate- 

 acuminate channelle<l: fr. size of an olive, yellow. 

 Natal. —Intro in S. Calif. L. H. B. 



clit. 



2377. Four-O'clock.— Mirabilis Jalapa. 



MINKELERSIA (Dr. Minkelers, professor of physics 



in the University of Louvain). lAguminbsw. Creeping 



or twining herlis of very few species, in Mex. Hooker 



writes that "the genus is considered by Bentham to be 



little more than a section of Phaseolus, distin- 



guishetl by its longer calyx-lobes, and the elongate 



petals." None of the species seems to be regu- 



■^ larly in cult. The following has been recently 



^' described. M. biflora, Hemsl., has a tuberous root 



antl long very slender twining sjiarsely hairy St.: 



Ifts. 3, nearly equal, orbicular-ovate, obtuse: fls. 



1}2 in. long, pale red-inirple, 2 on each axillary 



I)eduncle: pod linear and straight, containing very 



.small seeds. Mex. B.M. 7819. 



MINT: Mentha. 



MINT GERANIUM: Chrijmnthemum Balsamita. 



MIRABILIS (The old name was Admira- 

 bilia, meaning wonderful, strange; shortened 

 by Linnieus to Mirabilis). 'Nyctaginacea>. In- 

 teresting flower-garden herbs. 



The fls. have no corolla, but the calyx is 

 colored and tubuLar and exactly like a corolla in appear- 

 ance. The fls. are surrounded by a leafy involucre, and 

 sometimes (as in M. Jalapa) only 1 fl. is borne in an 

 involucre, simulating a corolla in a .5-cleft calyx; sta- 

 mens .5 or (), as long as the perianth, their filaments 

 united at the base; style 1, with a capitate stigma: fr. 

 hardened, caps.-like and indehiscent. — About a dozen 

 species in the warmer parts of Amer.; or twice that 

 number if Oxybaphus is included. The species of Mir.a- 

 bilis are perennisil herbs, although grown .as annuals 

 from seeds, with Ivs. petioled and opposite, and fls. 

 solitary or paniculate and nearly or quite sessile in the 

 involucres. 



A. Involucre containing only 1 .//.; plant glabrous or very 

 nearly so. 

 Jalapa, Linn. Four-O'clock. Marvel of Peru. 

 l<"ig. 2:{77. Erect-bushy quick-growing herb, germina- 

 ting readily from the large conical-oblong frs., 2-3 ft. 

 high, bciiring profu.sely in late .summer .and f:ill long- 

 tubecl fuiinclfonn fls. in white and shades of red ;md 

 yellow, and striped, opening in cloudy weather or late 

 in the :ifternoon (whence the common name four- 

 o'clock), and clo.sing in the morning: Ivs. ovate-lanceo- 

 late, short-petioled, acumin.ate, entire: fls. in clusters 

 amongst the Ivs.; stumens not exserted. Trop. Amer. 

 B.M. 371. f!. 2:499. — Cult, from early times, ;ind 

 id ways a favorite. In the tropics it has tuberous roots, 

 and these were once supposed to be the source of jalap, 

 whcni-e the n.arne Jalapa. There are dwarf and com- 

 piict v:irieties; also forms with Viiriegated foliage. The 

 four o'clock is ;m "old-fashioned" fl. It is treated as a 

 tender ;innu:d, thriving in any garden soil. It is a use- 

 ful jilant for growing in a hedge (phvnts 1 ft. apart) at 

 the rear of the fl.-garden. Sometimes it comes \i\) in the 



