1008 



MESEMBRYANTHEMUxM 



AA. Papulosa: Plant nHualli/ beariiiy i/li/lrriiiii pit- 



pilUe, vesicles or projections on .itemmind /Vs.,— 



hence thepopular name Ice Plant (species 2-1-33J. 



B. Boot annual or biennial (ctilt. as annuals). 



c. Fls, white or rose-color, sessile or nearly so. 



24. CTystalUnum, Linn. Ice Plant. Fig. 1396. A 



common plant in window-gardens and hanging baskets, 



and readily grown from seeds (which are offered by 



seedsmen), procumbent: Ivs. flat, fleshy, ovate or long- 



spatulate, usually clasping, undulate, covered with 



glistening dots or elevations: fls. small, whitish or va- 



.■)L', Bteliatum, Mill. Tlirei- or 4 in. high, fleshy and 

 tufted: Ivs. crowded, Ja in. long, glaucous, semi-cyliTi- 

 drical, scabrous, with many hairs at the apex: pedun- 

 cles hairy: fls. reddish violet, the calyx campanulatc, 

 a in. long. 



nil. d^nsum. Haw. Much like the last: Ivs. longer, 



r i!id convex beneath, ciliate also at the 



i r: fls. reddish violet. R.H. J8G9, p. 3.i(!. 



['■^ of Mesemhryanthprnnms which nrp 7int 





rying to light rose-color. S. Afr., Greece, Canary 

 Islands, S. Calif.-Grown for its glistening foliage. 

 Fls. open in the sun. 



cr. Fls. yellow, long-peduncled. 



25. pomeridiinum, Linn. Stem simple or forking, the 

 branches ascending, hairy on branches, peduncles and 

 calices: Ivs. lance-spatulate or spatulate, narrowed into 

 a petiole, ciliate: 2 of the calyx lobes longer than the 

 petals; petals linear-lanceolate. 



26. gl&brum, Alt. Glabrous : Ivs. lance-spatulate, 

 petiolate and dilated at base: fls. straw-colored, darker 

 at the eye; lobes of the calyx linear and unequal. 



BB. Boot perennial and the stem becoming somewhat 



woody. 



C. Lvs. flat, petiolate. 



27. cordifdlium, Linn. Stems 1-2 ft., diffuse, minutely 

 papillose: lvs. opposite, ] in. or less long au<l nearly as 

 wide, cordate-ovate, somewhat papillose: fls. solitary, 

 peduncled, purple, the petals short and linear. A var. 

 variegAtum is in cult., and is a good half-hardy trailing 

 plant. 



cc. Lvs. compressed-triquetrous, not petiolate. 



28. ^legans, Jacq. Shrubby, 6-12 in. or more tall, 

 branchy, whitish or red : lvs. crowded, % in. long and 

 very narrow, very glaucous, scabrous: fls. numerous, 

 mostly panicled, pale red (or whitish), the petals 54 in. 

 long. 



ccc. Ia's. terete or nearly so. 

 D. Branches hispid or bristly. 



29. Bubcompr^ssum, Haw. Erect, 2 ft.: lvs. not 

 crowded, % in. or less long, narrow, very blunt, green- 

 i.sh canescent, flattened-terete: fls. solitary, purplish; 

 calyx lobes unequal. 



.30. floribiindum. Haw. Tortuous in growth, the 

 branches not over (i in. loni,', mere or los.i decumbent: 

 lvs. less than 1 in. lung, vi-rv narrow, tereti-, curved, 

 obtuse, a little thicker towards the apex; fls. small, 

 axillary, rose-color, the ."> styles exserted, the petals 

 twice longer than the calyx. 



DD. Branches not hispid. 

 31. barbAtum, Linn. A foot or more tall, diffuse and 

 decumbent: Ivs. ii<>i .-rowdrd. l-i in. long, spreading, 

 green and pcllnri,!. ,, mi . v iindi-ical, with 5 or (i hairs 

 at the end: Hs. -..lii:n v. v, ,l.li>li, the petals entire and 

 2-3 times longer ihan ilir .mIvx. 



MESOSPINlDIUM (Creek compound; meaning ob- 

 -.run-). Orrhuliirni . Till- plants Cultivated as Mesospi- 

 nidium are referred by some to the genus Cochlioda. They 

 have the habit of a slender Odontoglossum, with sheath- 

 ing lvs. at the base of the pseudobulbs. Fls. in racemes 

 or panicles; sepals and petals sub-similar, expanded; 

 labellum with 2 longitudinal ridges, adnate to the col- 

 umn, with rounded lateral lobes and a narrow middle 

 lobe: column long or short: poUinia 2, seated on a rhom- 

 boid pedicel. These plants are evergreen coolhouse 

 orchids, and thrive well in baskets of peat and moss, 

 with plenty of water. Cochlioda has about 5 species, of 

 which the following is often cultivated: 



sangulneum, Reichb. f. Pseudobulbs oval, 2-1 vd., 

 mottled: lvs. ligulate, sharp-pointed, shorter than the 

 iiiritiy iM. cir npiiig panicle: fls. numerous, small, vivid 



I ' ' r sepals are partially united, oblong; 



I I I vate. Peruvian Andes. B.M. 5627. 



i; ...,..,,,..,„. iioiphb. f., is described as Cochlioda vulcan- 

 ir.i ii.,.,ll,.i:,,i,ruiJLrnitme. HeinEICH Hasselbring. 



M^SFILUS (Greek, substantive name). Bosdcete. 

 Mespil. Medlar. From Pyrus, with which this genus 

 is united by British authors, Mespilus differs in bear- 

 ing the flowers singly on leafy growths of the season 

 (the fruits, like the quince, having no true detachable 

 peduncles as pears and apples do), and in having the 



but 



,-ered by the over-growing 

 Dne specie' of true Meipilus 

 Pocke, in Engler & Pi intl 



^/"^W^ 



top of the ovaries 

 receptacle There i 

 but some authors (e g , 

 "Die Naturhchen Pflan 

 zenfaraihen") include 

 some of the Crda^gus 

 sptt ics in the gtiins 



The common M( II n 

 IS Mfisptlns Germanica 

 Linn , native to ( > nir il 

 Euiope To a coiisi.l, i 

 able extent in ii ufs it 

 Europe it is grown Ic.i 

 its acid fruits, but m ilns 

 country it is \ci\ litili 

 known It is put. ti\ 

 hardy in centnl \. h 

 York, and Its culti\ iti. n 

 requites no special tit it 

 ment or skill It makes 

 a twiggy, tough wooded 

 bush or small tiee, 10 to 



Ih. I l.i_, IS soft 

 UMl luxun [or leaves 

 lance obloug or long ob- ^ 

 long, pubesttnt simple, 

 serrate. The fruit (Fig. 

 1397) remains hard and 

 frosts. With the freezing' 

 fruit becomes brown and 

 after it is touched by fro 

 or in drawers in a cool, dr; 

 which follows is known as 



ened, it is agreeable for eating from the hand, partic- 

 ularly for those who enjoy fruit-acids. It also makes 

 good preserves. 



. nr ,lecay, the 



.v 'on shelves 

 M iiiiig process 

 rii finally " 



