•JtHvS 



Monixc.A 



MORMODES 



lU'ixvss; |xhI oflon 1'2 It- li>iiK. iWilihcil, lioarinp :{- 

 itn^ltHl. wincoil s»hmIs. Iiulia, Inil now spimtiiiicims in 

 Hart.< of tlio W. Indies. -Tlu- horsi'-nidisli troi> is so 

 naiiuHi from the pung«nt taste of tlio root, which is 



2388. Moringa oleifera — 

 the horse-radish tree. 



IX',) 



soMU'times oaten. Tlie 

 youn(: fr. is also edible. 

 The seeds (called ben- 

 nuts) yield an oil which 

 more or less used in 

 the arts. The tree is 

 sometimes cult, in the 

 e.xtreme S. U. S.; it has 

 been grown in S. Calif, 

 for many years. 



L. H. B. 



MORISIA ((;. (;. Moris, 1796-1869, Italian botanist). 

 (.'rucifi-rsf. One perennial, excellent in alpine gardening, 

 from Corsica and Sardinia, M. hypogsea, (lay. I'ig. 

 2389. Sts. short or none, the nndcrgroiiinl jiart spreading 

 horizontally and .sending u|> many linear, pinnatisect or 

 pinnatifid Ivs. H in. long: fls. golden yellow, in si)ring 

 and early summer, .solitary but numerous and large 

 (J^in. diam.); sepals erect, linear-oblong and obtuse; 

 petals .spatulate: scape decurving and burying the fr., 

 the latter J^-^in. or more long and rijiening under ground. 

 H.M.7.19K. (i. :J4::}23. L. H. 13. 



MORISONIA (Robert Mori.son, British botanist, 

 162S-168;i). CapparirM'i;r . Woody ))lants of very 

 few species, in the West Indies and South .\in(;rica, one 

 of which is listed abroad: a warmhouse subject, grown 

 for its bloom. 



Plants unarmed: Ivs. simple, pctioled, coriaceous: fls. 

 in rnany-fld. axillarj- or terminal chistcrs, large or 

 small; calyx tubular or campanulatc, splitting; corolla 

 of 4 obtasc petals; stamens 6-20, shortc^r or longer than 

 the corolla, with subulate filaments; ovary 1-celled, 

 stalked : fr. a globose berry. M. americ^na, Linn. Low 

 tree: Ivs. oblong, at first with Icpidotc .scales, shining, 

 about 6 in. long: fls. wliite, petals and the infl. scurfy: 

 berry 1 J 2-2 in. diam. W.Indies, Colombia, l H. B. 



MORMODES fflreek, a groliKf/uc creature). Orchi- 

 (lAa-^. Iliither large plants remarkable for the inter- 

 esting form of their flowers, which suggested the name 

 given to the genus by Lindley. 



Pseudohulhs long, tapci'ing, sheathed by the dry 

 bases of llic fallen Ivs.: Ivs. long, iilaitcd, deciduous in 

 the autuMin: raccnic from the base of the |)seudobvilbs, 

 bearing many showy lis.; .sepals and i)etals subccjual, 

 mostly narrow; labclluni lirinly unili'd with the column, 

 with revnlute margins, rarely (concave, turned to one 

 side; cohnnn without api)endages, twisted in the opi)o- 

 site direction from the labclluni. Distinguished from 

 the closely relateil genus Catasetuni by its |)erfect fls. 

 and wingless colunui. — About 20 species in Colombia, 

 Cent. ,\mer. and Mex. 



Mormcxles arc commonly found in poor condition 

 among the collections, which is the result of neglect 

 rather than dilliculty of cultivation. They should be 

 j^niwn in small haskcis sus|)riiili'il from the roof, in a 

 ciiinposi of equal parts of clean chopped peat fiber, 

 s])hagmun anil sod, inlersiiersed by nodules of charcoal, 

 and the whole pressed in firmly around the roots. The 

 roots like to work among the charcoal, and this also 

 serves the purpose of dividing the comjiost, thereby 

 allowing it to dry out more readily. INIormodes do not 

 require an ahimdance of water at any time, and the 

 compost sho\ild be allowed to dry out frequently during 

 the growing .season. When at rest, an occasional appli- 

 cation will suffice to ket-p the soil moist anil the pseudo- 

 bulbs from shriveling. Re-basketing should take place 

 at the commencement of new growth in spring. They 

 all require warmhouse temperature; the eattlcya or 

 cyprii)edium department affords them a proper loca- 

 tion as to temperature and moisture. (Robert M. 

 Grey.) 



Colossus, Reichb. f. Pseudobulbs 6-12 in. long, 

 clothed with brown sheaths: Ivs. elliptic-ovate, 10-15 

 in. long, plaited: raceme inclined, 2 ft. long, with the 

 stalk; fls. .'J-6 in. across; .sepals and petals narrow- 

 lanceolate, s])reading or reflexed, with recurved mar- 

 gins, pink below, changing to yellow toward the upper 

 portion ; labelliun ovate, long-acuminate, very revolute, 

 yellow, somewhat sprinkled with pink dots. March. 

 Cent. Amer. B.M. .5840. — A plant of striking appear- 

 ance. 



pardina, Batem. Pseudobulbs 4-7 in. high, .st.-like, 

 sheathed by the ba,ses of the lanceolate, striate Ivs., 

 which are 4 times as long: raceme nodding, many-fld., 

 shorter than the Ivs.; fls. yellow, spotted with reddish 

 purple, fragrant, crowded on the upper end of the stalk; 

 .sepals and jietals ovate, pointed, convergent; labellum 

 nearly like the segms. but with 2 lateral acute lobes. 

 July, Aug. Mex. B.M. 3900. F.C:. 3:113.— A curious 

 anfl rather rare plant. Var. unicolor. Hook. {M. cilrhm, 

 Hort.). Fls. of one color, all yellow. B.M. 3879. I.H. 

 1:2.5. G.C. III. 14:181. Var. aurantiaca, Rolfe. 

 Sepals and jx-tals golden yellow; labellum yeUow. 

 I.II..39:144. 



Buccinator, Lindl. Plants 1-2 ft. high: Ivs. lanceo- 

 late, membranous, striate: fls. pale green, with an 



2389. Morisia hypogaea. ( X ' ;) 



ivory-white lij); sepals linear-oblong, the lateral ones 

 refl('X(Hl; petals erect; labellum subrotund-cuneate, with 

 the sides rf)lled back, giving it the appearance of a 

 trumpet. April. Mex. B.M. 445.5 (M. lentiginosa) . 

 Var. aurantiaca, |{olf('. Differs in its golden fls. B.M. 

 8041. Var. Rolfei, Hort. .Sepals and petals 



