2094 



MVUlOrHYI.LUM 



MYRISTICA 



MYRIOPHYLLUM iCireok, mijnad-kand). Ilalor- 

 aguU'ici.i. rAKuoTs I'katheu. NVatt-r phmts, used in 

 aqu:iria. finint;uns aiul pools. 



One of the eisilit peneni of the widespread water- 

 milfoil family, other p-neni heins Ciuimeni, Hippuris 

 and rroserpinaoa, all with minute or inconspievious 

 individual tls. luit interesting and various in foliage. 

 L\-s. whorled or alternate, en\ersed and imn\erseil, the 

 former entin-, dentate or iiinnale, the latter divided 

 into eapillan,- segms. : tls. ustially monu'eious, di(veious 

 or polygamous, in axillary clusters or siiikes; ealyx 

 none, or present and minutely 2-4-lol)ed; jietals 2-4; 

 sUuiiens 4-S; ovarj- 2-l-eelled, eaeh cell with a solitary 

 o%'ule. — Speeies about 20, in fresh water in many parts 

 of the world, from the tropies to the frigid zones. Vari- 

 ous native speeies are likely to be transferred to ponds 

 and aquaria. 



The parrot's feather is a favorite aquatic plant, with 

 delicate feathery foliage, composed of numerous whorls 

 of finely cut leaves. The one often seen in vases and 

 fountains in public parks has the uncomfortable name of 



stamens 4 or ti; petals rather persistent: carpels 1-2- 

 ridgcd and roughened on the back. Lakes and rivers. 

 Ont. to Fla. and iMiim. VVilhelm Miu,bi{. 



L. H. 15.t 

 MYRISTICA (Creek, alluding to the aromatic quali- 

 ties of the plants). M i/nslinicr.r. NuTME(i. Myris- 

 ticas are of many species, but most of the nutmegs of 

 commerce arc the product of M. fragrans, Houtt. (M . 

 nDixchaIn, Thunb. M. nilirinalia, Linn. f. M. aro- 

 tmitira, Lam.), sliown in Figs. 242.'), 2120. This tree is 

 cult, and naturalized in the \V. Indies. The genus 

 Myristica is the only one in the family under the old 

 treatment, but it is now divided by Warburg into 8 

 genera. As delimited, Myristica comprises about 80 

 s|)ecies in farther India, Austral., and Pacific Isls. As 

 formerly defined they are diircious trees with alternate, 

 entire, pinnate- veined Ivs.. and small fls. in axillary 

 clusters: perianth 2-4- (usually :{-) lobed, in a single 

 series; anthers :i or more, connate; ovary single, 1- 

 locviled, ripening into a fleshy fr. The nutmeg of com- 







2424. Parrot's feather. — Myriophyllum proser- ' '^ ''t^'y\(''A 



pinacoides (X-S*. Not to be confounded with •/I'VsNj '''^ 



species of Cabomba. (See Water-Gardening.) ij 



^r.:l.S^ ./#^ .'^f 



Myriophyllum proscrpinacoidis. It is a half-hardy plant 

 from Chile, with weak stems which grow out of the 

 water about 6 inches. It may be planted in a water- 

 tight hanging-basket, and if water can be kejjt st.anding 

 on the surface, the plant will hang gracefully over the 

 edges. Although detached floating branches will per- 

 sist for some time, the plant needs earth in which to root. 

 The other species here described are hardy plants, 

 which are common in our ea-stern jjonds. Any one of 

 them may be gathered for the aquarium, antl the last 

 two are procurable from dealers in aquatics and aqua- 

 rium supplies. All of them are readily projiagated by 

 long cuttings inserted in the earth or mud of the aqua- 

 rium or pond. (William Tricker.J 



A. Lvs. all alike. 

 proserpinacoides, Gill. Parrot's Feather. Fig. 

 2424. Lvs. in whorls of 4-6, 7-12 lines long; segins. 

 10-2.X Chile. G.W. 1."), p. (WO.— It, has escaped fnjm 

 cult, in N. J., but apparently has not persisted. Differs 

 from the 2 following in being dioecious. The female 

 plant is the one in cult. 



AA. Lvs. above the surface of the water differeni from those 



below. 



n. Li'H. vilmrlfd in S's and J)S. 



verticill^tum, Linn. Floral Ivs. pectinate or pinnati- 



fid, longer or shorter than the fls.; submerged lvs. in 



crowded whorls, the divisions very fine or slender: 



Btamen.<; 8; petals deciduous: carpels even. Cana<ia and 



N. U. S. Eu. 



i!i). /,(■». u'horlerl in IfS arul ^'n. 

 heteropb^llum, Michx. Floral lvs. ovate, lanceolate, 

 sharply serrate, or even entire, mtich longer than fls.: 



merce is the seed, lliis is surrounded by a ruminated 

 aril, which furnishes the mace of commerce. The fr. of 

 M. fragrans is short-i)ear-shaped, to nearly globular, 

 1 \2-2 in. long, hanging, reddish or yellowish, some- 

 what fleshy, splitting at maturity into 2 valves and dis- 

 closing the scarlet aril or mace. Inside the arU is the 

 hard nut or shell, and inside the .shell is the nutmeg. 

 The det.ails of the mace and nutmeg are shown in Fig. 

 2426. For a full illustrated and historical account of the 

 nutmeg, see B.M. 2756, 2757 (1827). The nutmeg 

 has not been grown to any extent in the western 

 hemisphere, the commercial supply of nuts and mace 

 coming mostly from the E. Indies. l H. B. 



The nutmeg tree requires a position in well-sheltered, 

 hot, moist valleys in the tropics from sea-level up to 400 

 or .500 feet; it will grow and produce fruit in .laniaica 

 up to 2,000 feet, but the fruit is not so abundant nor 

 the nut so large as at lower elevations. The soil must 

 be a deep rich loam, well dr.ained. The seedlings 

 have a tap-root which is very easily injured in trans- 

 planting. The method usually adopted for growing 

 them is to sow the seeds in bamboo pots, one in each. 

 Wliiii they are ready for planting in their permanent 

 pl.ucs, the bamboo is slit, and the soil, with the plant, 

 gently [lut into the prepared hole. It is only when they 

 first flower that it is possible to tell the sex of the tree. 

 Nothing is known of the conditions which determine the 

 .sex. In Grenada (Rriti.sh West Indies), the usual pro- 

 portion of male trees to female is said to be as three to 

 one, thougli .sometimes forty or fifty trees close together 

 will all be eithc^r male or female. As the trees generally 

 flower when they are six or .seven years old, there is 

 great waste in the growth of male trees. In the Botanic 

 Gardens in .lamaica, it has been found possible to 



