2txv: 



MONOCH.ETUM 



MONOLOPIA 



Allioii to Hlu'xia. but (iilTpiiii!; in tlu- clavatc-iipiicnil- 

 iVfwl tH>nncrtivo ainl otlu-r iniiuir cliaiactiMs: mostly 

 cjvot, uiloso: Ivs. ">-7-norvo(l, ovato or lamvolatc: tls. 

 paiiioulato, mediiiiii sizo, purple or rose; calyx-lobos t, 

 niirrow, deciduous or jiersistent; i)etals 4; staineiis 8, 

 unlike, with glabrous hlameuts: fr. a 4-valved caps. — 

 Spoi'ies 30—10, Mex. to Peru. Tliev are said to be of 

 easy cult.; see Mtliuloma lUid Malinilla for similar 

 phints. Prop, by cuttings. 



A number of species may be found in the collections 

 of fiuiciers. Probably tlie one most likely to l)e cult., 

 and which is now offered abroad, is M. sericeum, 

 Hort. (probably M. sericeum, Naudin — pio]H'rly M. 

 Bonpiandii. Naudin). There is also a garden var. 

 muttiflorum of it, with handsome mauve fls. produced 

 in abunihmce in spring. .1/. lioiifilnndii is .shrubby, tlie 

 bnuiches somewhat hirsute: Ivs. ovate, .Vuervcd, 

 entire, short-jx-tioled, villous, and pubescent beneath: 

 fls. a.\illary or tenninal, \aolet. S. Amer., in the 

 .\mazon region. L H. B. 



MONOCHORIA (name refers to tlie one separalv 

 stamen). Sometimes misspelled Munocliaria. Poii- 

 tcdcriace^. A very few species of rhizomatous herbs 

 allied to Pontederia but differing in the absence of 

 perianth-tube, in erect rather than versatile anthers, 

 and the ovary 3-celled and many-<ivulcd rather than 

 1-celled and 1-ovuled. The species are aquatic herbs 

 in the tropics or subtropics of E. .\sia, Afr., and Aus- 

 tral., with long radical and short cauline Ivs., the blade 

 cordate-ovate or lanceolate: raceme apjiearing to arise 

 from the petiole of a scape-lf., bearing many blue or 

 \iolet fls. Probably none is in the trade. M. vaginalis, 

 Presl, of India, bears long-petioled oblong-lanceolate 

 cordat« acute Ivs. with hollow petioles and is eaten 

 when young as a prat-herb: 2 ft. high: fls. blue. G.W. 

 11, p. 388. 



MONODORA (Greek, siiigle gift, in allusion to the 

 solitary flowers). Annonhcese. Trees, or shrubs, often 

 with more or less climbing habit. 



Flowers extra-axillarj- or opposite the Ivs. or some- 

 times terminal, borne on a long bracteolate usually 

 pendulous peduncle. This genus forms a distinct 

 tribe distinguished from all other Annonacetc by a 

 1-celled compound ovary with numerous ovules 

 attached to the inner walls. The fls. are composed of 3 

 valvate sepals, a corolla of 6 petals united at the base, 

 many short stamens crowfied on a spheroid receptacle 

 bearing 2 elongated parallel pollen-sacs capped by the 

 dilated apex of the connective. The ovary borne on the 

 summit of the rccejitacle expands into a 

 shield-like process, very much like that of 

 a poppy, the upper surface of which is 

 stigmatic. The spherical gourd-like fr. is 

 closely packeil 

 with seeds hav- 

 ing the small 

 <'mbryo and 

 wrinkled en<lo- 

 sperm which is 

 characteristic of 

 all Annonacea-. 

 This genus 

 though of .'\fri- 

 can origin wa.s 

 first established 

 from a plant 

 from Afr. with 



2384. Monogranuna trichoidea. 



growing in .Jamaica, certainly intro 

 negro slaves. Of the 11 species described by Kngler & 

 DieLs, all African, 2 are of economic importance. They 

 are little known as horticultural subjects. 



Myristica, Dunal. Calabash Nut.meo. Lvs. short- 

 rietioled, the blade firmly membranaceous or pa()er- 

 like, glabrous, obovate or oblong-elliptical, cuneately 

 narrowed toward the base, which is obscurely cordate; 



ajiex more or less aciuninate, i)rimary later.al nerves 

 10-20, prominent beneath, curving upward, (^oimcctcd 

 by .secondary nerves almost at right angles to them: 

 fls. fragrant, solitary, long-pedunculate, the i)ed\mcle 

 bearing at or above the mitldle an ovate-lanceolate op 

 suborbicular bracteole often more or less acuminate at 

 the apex; outer jietals more or less ovate-lanceolate, 

 gradually narrowing toward the ajiex, undulate-cris- 

 l)atc, white or yellowish, and variegated with purple 

 or brown spots; interior jjclals shortly clawed, ovate- 

 conlate obtvisc, auriculate and i)ilose at the base; 

 stigma with the circular margin .scallojied or entire: fr. 

 globose, more or less longitiuhnally striate or ob.scurely 

 ribbed, with the pericarp thick, woody and gounl-like, 

 often 4-G in. diam., and hanging on a peduncle 24 

 in. long. Alt African tree endemic in the forests of 

 Sierra Leone, Ujipcr (luinca, Kamerun, Gabun, the 

 Jjower Congo, and .\ngola. In its native habitat it 

 often reaches a height of 00 ft. or more; but in cult, it 

 is usually much smaller. — The aromatic seeds, with 

 the endosperm ruminate like that of a nutmeg, are 

 highly prized by the native Africans. They are used 

 medicinally antl as a spice for seasoning food, and are 

 offered for sale in local markets, strung together 

 like rosaries. 



angolensis, Welw. Angola Calabash NtrrMEO. A 

 shrub or tree sometimes reaching the height of 12 ft.: 

 fls. very fragrant ; outer petals un<hdate-crispate, varie- 

 gated with purjile, broadly ovate, erect and curving 

 inward above the essential parts; inner petals rose- 

 tinted or whitish in color, borne on a long narrow claw, 

 dilated into a transversely elliptical or subrhomboid 

 pilo.se limb: fr. is ovoid-ellip.soid, longitudinally striate 

 and .abruptly apiculate. — The aromatic .seeds are used 

 in the same way as those of the preceding species. 



W. E. Safford. 



MONOGRAMMA (Greek, a single line; alluding 

 either to the grass-like lvs. or to the elongated linear 

 sorus). Polypodiacesp. A tropical Old World genus of 

 several small species of grass-like ferns, rarely seen in 

 cult. M. trichoidea, J. Smith (Fig. 2384), is a tiny 

 bark-inhabiting ])lant with thread-like lvs., 1-2 in. long, 

 native in the Philipi)ines. It is of exceptional interest 

 from the collector's standpoint because it is without 

 exception, so far as known, the simplest and most deli- 

 cate feni in existence. Its habitat is like that of most 

 filmies and the cultural conditions required are also 

 similar. R. C. Benedict. 



MONOLENA (Greek words referring to the single 

 s])ur-likc apiK'iidage on the anterior side of the anther- 

 connective). M elastomacese . About 5 species of stem- 

 less somewhat fleshy herbs from Cent. Amer., Colombia 

 and Peru, one of which is a small hothouse foliage 

 ])lant, cult, like bertolonia, and known to the trade as 

 liirtoliDiin priniulseflora. All the sijecies have a charac- 

 teristic rootstock, composed of clusters of short thick 

 rhizomes, prominently scarred by the falling of the lvs., 

 and the fls. are numerous, and resemble a primrose 

 about 1 in. across, .5-petaled, pink, and borne on slender 

 scapes: lvs. long-petioled, oblong to orbicular, entire or 

 dentate. See Bertolonia. 



primulseflSra, Hook. f. {Berlolbnia primulseflbra, 

 Hurt.). Glabrous: Ivs. leathery, broadly elliptical, the 

 margins dentate and ciliate: calyx-lobes broadly ovate- 

 rounded. B.M.,5818. F.S. IS, p. 162. G.C. 1870:309. 

 — It has metallic green lvs. 4-0 in. long, with 3-5-par- 

 allel veins, the under surface of the lvs. being a showy 

 ro.sy purple. 



MONOLOPIA (Greek, one garment or husk; refer- 

 ring to the involucre, the scales of which are united at 

 ba.se or into a cup). Compdsitat. Yellow-fld. woolly 

 annuals from C^alif., with 8-10 pistillate rays which 

 are 2-4-toothed or lobed: lvs. alternate (or lower ones 

 opposite), sessile, entire or pinnately parted: peduncles 



