M 



MAACKIA. See Cladrastis. 



MABA (native name). Eben&cece. A genus of about 

 ) species of trees and shrubs found in the warmer 

 ,'gions of the world. They mostly have hard, ebony- 

 ke wood. Closely allied to Diospyros, the floral parts 

 lostly in 3's instead of 4's or 5's. The Ivs. are usually 

 ,-naller than in Diospyros. Lvs. alternate: fls. axillary, 

 >litary or in short cymes, usually dioacious; corolla 

 ell-shaped or tubular. 



Natal6nsis, Haw. Much-branched shrub, with flexuous 

 ranches: Ivs. %-l in. long, 6-7 lines wide, ovate, ob- 

 )ng or elliptical, obtuse, dark green above, paler be- 

 eath, glabrous, netted-veined beneath: female fls. soli- 

 ; ary; calyx cup-shaped, glabrous, entire; abortive sta- 

 iens6-7: ovary glabrous. Natal; offered in S.Fla. 

 Presumably the plant in cult, is the female. 



MACADAMIA (after John Macadam, M.D., secretary 



'hilosophical institute, Victoria, N. S. W.). Prote&cece. 

 ?wo or 3 species of Australian trees or tall shrubs, one 

 'if which produces the Australian nut, which has a flavor 

 'ike a filbert or almond, and is cult, in S. Calif. In fa- 

 orable localities it bears in 7 years. The genus has no 

 lear allies of horticultural value. Lvs. whorled: fls. 

 small, pedicelled in pairs, racemose, hermaphrodite; 

 perianth not recurved; stamens affixed a little below 

 he blades: disk ringed, 4-lobed or 4-parted. 

 ternildlia, F. Muell. AUSTRALIAN NUT. Tree, attain- 

 ng 60 ft. : foliage dense: Ivs. sessile, in whorls of 3 or 

 \, oblong or lanceolate, serrate, with fine prickly teeth, 

 glabrous and shining, a few inches to 1 ft. long: ra- 

 cemes often as long as the Ivs.: fr. with a 2 valved, 

 leathery covering; nut of ten over 1 in. thick. Australia. 

 GKC. 1870:1181. 



MACH2ERIUM Tipu. See Tipuana speciosa. 

 MACKAYA. See Axystasia. 



MACLEANIA (after John Maclean, British merchant 

 at Lima, Peru; patron of botany). Vaccine dcece. About 

 a dozen species of shrubs found in the mountains from 

 Mexico to Peru. They are unknown to the American 

 trade, but, judging from the pictures in the Botanical 

 Magazine, should make fine hothouse subjects for our 

 largest and finest conservatories. They have clusters of 

 brick-red or crimson, tubular fls. each an inch or more 

 long. A branch of M. speciosissima, which is probably 

 the showiest kind, bears about 60 to 75 such fls. The 

 young foliage appears to have a handsome reddish 

 tinge. The corollas are strongly 5-angled, and the 5 

 tips are short, triangular, erect or spreading and more 

 or less yellow. Lvs. evergreen, alternate, short-stalked, 

 entire: stamens 10, much shorter than the corolla. 

 Macleanias are probably of difficult culture. Try M. 

 speciosissima in a large pot on a shelf near the glass, 

 so that its branches may hang gracefully. M. piilchra 

 has the same habit and color of fls., but is perhaps less 

 desirable. M. punctata is perhaps the most desirable 

 of those with erect branches and stiff habit. Try this in 

 a warmhouse border, with good drainage and shallow 

 soil, as some of these Macleanias have thick, fleshy 

 roots and the fibrous roots are said to keep near the 

 surface. 



MACLtTKA, or OSAGE OEANGE. See Toxylon. 



M'MAHON, BERNARD (about 1775 to September 16, 

 1816), horticulturist, was born in Ireland and came to 

 America, for political reasons, in 1796. He settled in 

 Philadelphia, where he engaged in the seetl and nursery 

 business. He early began the collection and exportation 

 of seeds of American plants. In 1804 he published a 

 catalogue of such seeds, comprising about 1,000 species. 

 He was the means of making many of our native plants 

 known in Europe. He enjoyed the friendship of Jeffer- 



son and other distinguished men, and his seed store be- 

 came a meeting place of botanists and horticulturists. 

 He was interested in all branches of horticulture. It is 

 thought that the Lewis & Clark expedition was planned 

 at his house. At all events, M'Mahon and Landreth 

 were instrumental in distributing the seeds which those 

 explorers collected (see p. 767). In 1806, he gave to 

 America its first great horticultural book, "American 

 Gardener's Calendar" (see p. 760), which was long a 

 standard cyclopedic work. The editor of the eleventh 

 edition of this book (1857) makes the following remin- 

 iscence of M'Mahon: 



"Bernard M'Mahon was no common man. He sought 

 the American shores from political motives, as is un- 

 derstood, but what these were has not been determine^ ; 

 most probably it was necessary to fly from the persecu- 

 tion of government. He found American gardening in 

 its infancy, and immediately set himself vigorously to 

 work to introduce a love of flowers and fruit. The 

 writer well remembers his store, his garden and green- 

 houses. The latter were situated near the Germantown 

 turnpike, between Philadelphia and Nicetown, whence 

 emanated the rarer flowers and novelties, such as could 

 be collected in the early part of the present century, 

 and where were performed, to the astonishment of the 

 amateurs of that day, successful feats of horticulture 

 that were but too rarely imitated. His store was on 

 Second street, below Market, on the east side. Many 

 must still be alive who recollect its bulk window, orna- 

 mented with tulip-glasses, a large pumpkin, and a 

 basket or two of bulbous roots; behind the counter offi- 

 ciated Mrs. M'Mahon, with some considerable Irish ac- 

 cent, but a most amiable and excellent disposition, and 

 withal, an able saleswoman. Mr. M'Mahon was also 

 much in the store, putting up seeds for transmission to 

 all parts of this country and Europe, writing his book, 

 or attending to his correspondence, and in one corner 

 was a shelf containing a few botanical or gardening 

 books, for which there was then a very small demand; 

 another contained the few garden implements, such as 

 knives and trimming scissors; a barrel of peas and a 

 bag of seedling potatoes, an onion receptacle, a few 

 chairs, and the room partly lined with drawers contain- 

 ing seeds, constituted the apparent stock in trade of 

 what was one of the greatest seed stores then known in 

 the Union, and where was transacted a considerable 

 business for that day. Such a store would naturally at- 

 tract the botanist as well as the gardener, and it was 



1343. Madia elegans. (See p. 964.) 



the frequent lounge of both classes, who ever found in 

 the proprietors ready listeners, as well as conversers; in 

 the latter particular they were rather remarkable, and 

 here you would see Nuttall, Baldwin, Darlington, and 

 other scientific men, who sought information or were 

 ready to impart it." 



M'Mahon's name was given to west-coast evergreen 

 barberries by Nuttall in 1818, and these shrubs are still 

 known as Mahonias to horticulturists, although united 

 with Berberis by botanists. L. H. P 



(963) 



