1000 



MELALEUCA 



MELASTOMA 



species, with many changeable and uncertain variations, 

 found throughout tropical Asia, especially the Indian 

 Archipelago. The plants range in size from shrubs to 

 trees 80 ft. high, the large trees having slender, pendu- 

 lous branches, the small trees and shrubs rigid, erect 

 branches: Ivs. often vertical, elliptical or lanceolate, 

 .straight, oblique or falcate, acuminate, acute or obtuse, 

 when broad 2-4 in. long, when narrow 6-8 in. long, nar- 

 rowed into a petiole, thin or rigid: fl. -spikes more or 

 less interrupted, solitary or 2 or 3 together, from less 

 than 2 to more than 6 in. long: fls. numerous, white, 

 elongated; stamens greenish yellow, whitish, pink or 

 purple, glabrous, 5-9 in each bundle, less than Xin. 

 long; claws sometimes very short, sometimes exceeding 

 the petals, each with 5-8 filaments at the end. The Ivs. 

 yield the well-known green aromatic cajaput oil used in 

 medicine. The bark is pale buff, in many thin, easily 

 separated layers; it is very durable, lasting longer than 

 timber, and is said to be almost impervious to water; it 

 is valuable for packing fruits and is used for roofs and 

 for boats. The tree withstands winds, drought and 

 slight frosts and grows where the Eucalpytus fails. 

 Von Muller recommends it for planting where yellow 

 fever occurs. Sometimes called the Paper Bark or 

 Swamp Tea tree. G.M. 40:798. 



AA. Lvs mostly in whorls of 3-5. 



micromera, Schau. Lvs. closely appressed, ovate, 

 ^scale-like, but thick, peltately attached, rarely above 

 %line long: fls. sulfur-yellow, the males small, in glob- 

 ular, terminal heads, the axils soon growing out into 

 a leafy shoot: fruiting heads dense, globular, the calices 

 open. 



AAA. Lvs. mostly opposite. 

 B. Margins of Ivs. recurved. 



hypericifdlia, Smith. Lvs. opposite, lanceolate or ob- 

 long, rather thin, with recurved margins and prominent 

 midrib %-!% in. long: fls. large, rich red, in cylindrical 

 or oblong dense spikes; stamens over % in. long; stami- 

 nal claws long. L.B. C. 2:199. This species belongs to 

 a series in which the stamens are over % in. long, while 

 in the other 6 series the stamens never exceed 



BB. Margin of Ivs. not recurved. 

 decussata, R. Br. Tall shrub, sometimes 20 ft. high : 

 Ivs. mostly opposite, often decussate on the smaller 

 branches, oblong-lanceolate or linear, 3-6 lines long, 

 rigid: fls. rather small, pink; when in oblong or almost 

 globular lateral heads or spikes are usually barren, and 

 fertile when in oblong or cylindrical interrupted spikes 

 forming the base of leaf y branches ; stamens not above 3 

 lines long, very shortly united in bundles of 10-15; calyx 

 lobes more or less scarious and deciduous or wearing off 

 when in fruit, attached by the broad base, more or less 

 immersed when in fruit in the thickened rachis. B.M. 

 2268. L.B.C. 13:1208. M. B. COULSTON. 



MELANTHIUM (Greek, black flower; from the darker 

 color which the persistent perianth assumes on fading). 

 Liliacece. Leafy perennial herbs 2-5 ft. high, with 

 -thick rootstocks: Ivs. linear to oblanceolate or oval: fls. 

 greenish, white or cream-colored, borne in a large, open 

 terminal panicle. The genus is nearest to Veratrum, but 

 the sepals of the latter are not clawed as they are in Me- 

 lanthium. Perianth segments usually oblong or oblanceo- 

 late, with or without glands at the top of the claw. Of 6 

 species, 2 are African, 1 Siberian and 3 North American, 

 -only 1 of the latter being in the trade. 



Virginicum, Linn. BUNCH FLOWER. Stem rather slen- 

 der, leafy: Ivs. linear, 1 ft. or less long: panicles 6-18 

 in. long: fls. 6-10 lines across; double gland at top of 

 claw. July. Marshy woodlands and meadows from New 

 England to Fla. and Minn, to Tex. B.M. 985 (Helonias 

 Virginica).-l\\t. by H. P. Kelsey 1891. A showy and 

 striking plaut. 



M. junceum is advertised by Krelage, of Haarlem, but its 

 botanical position is to be determined, 



MELASPH.ERULA (a little black sphere; referring 

 to the bulblets on the stem) . Iridacece. A genus of one 

 species from the Cape of Good Hope, a small, rare bul- 

 bous plant procurable from Dutch bulb-growers. It be- 



longs to the Ixia tribe, in which the flowers are spicate, 

 not fugitive, and never more than 1 to a spathe. It re- 

 sembles Ixia in having a regular perianth and simple 

 style branches, but belongs to a different group of 

 genera in which the stamens are one-sided and arched. 

 Baker places it between Crocosma and Tritonia, differ- 

 ing from them in having a small perianth without any 

 tube and very acuminate segments. Baker, Irideae, 1892, 

 and Flora Capensis, vol. C. For culture, see Bulbs and 

 Ixia. 



graminea, Ker. Corra globose, % in. in diam. : stem 

 very slender, 1 ft. or more long: Ivs. about 6 in a 2- 

 ranked, basal rosette, linear, %-l ft. long: spikes few- 

 fid., panicled: fls. yellowish green, veined with purplish 

 black, y^-% in. across. Spring. B.M. 615. 



1387. Umbrella-tree Melia Azedarach, var. umbraculiformis. 



MELASTOMA (Greek for black and mouth; alluding 

 to the color left in the mouth when the berries of some 

 species are eaten). This genus, which gives name to the 

 great family Melastomaceae, with 2,000 species, is little 

 known in cult. It is not the most important genus of 

 the family, either horticulturally or in number of species. 

 Cogniaux, the latest monographer (DC. Monogr. Phaner. 

 7) , admits 37 species. The larger part of melastomaceous 

 plants are of tropical America, but the true Melastomas 

 are natives to tropical Asia, Australia and Oceanica. 

 They are shrubs or rarely small trees: Ivs. opposite, 

 petiolate, oblong or lanceolate, thick and entire, strongly 

 nerved lengthwise, often handsomely colored : fls. soli- 

 tary or fascicled on the ends of the branches, purple 

 or rose (rarely white), large and showy; calyx mostly 

 5-lobed; petals usually 5 and often unequal, ciliate on 

 the back; stamens 10 as a rule, very strongly unequal, 

 part of them being short and small : f r. a leathery or 

 fleshy berry, breaking irregularly, 5-7-loculed and con- 

 taining many small spiral seeds. For culture, see 

 Medinilla. Nearly all tropical melastomaceous plants 

 require a high temperature, partial shade and consider- 

 able moisture. Prop, by cuttings of firm wood. Adver- 

 tized in S. Calif. 



A. Lvs. strongly 5-nerved. 



decgmfidum, Roxbg. ( M. sanguineum, D. Don. M. Mal- 

 abdthricum, Sims, not Linn.). Three to 4 ft.: branches 

 subterete and hirsute: Ivs. lanceolate or lance-oblong, 

 long-acuminate, the nerves (or at least some of them) 

 and the petioles often red: fls. 1-3, large, nearly or quite 

 2 in. across, the petals rose-colored and retuse. Java to 

 China. B.M. 529 and 2241. 



AA. Lvs. strongly 7 -nerved. 



candidum, D. Don (M. Malabdthricum, B.R. 8:672, not 

 Linn. ) . Branches 4-angled, the younger ones pubescent, 

 as also the petioles: Ivs. ovate-acute, setulose above, 

 villose beneath: fls. 3-7 in a cyme, rose-colored (some- 

 times white ? ) , about the size of those of M. decemfidum; 

 calyx-lobes shorter than the tube. China. 



Malabathricum, Linn. Differs from the last in having 

 the calyx-lobe? about equal to the tube, or sometimes 

 even longer: Ivs. oblong or ovate-oblong, acute or short- 

 acuminate, sparsely setulose, above and beneath : fls. 

 corymbose, purple, much smaller than in the last two. 



