31ENTZELIA 



MENTZELIA (Mentzel, an early German botanist). 

 fjoasacece. About 50 species of erect, sometimes woody 

 erbs, 1^5 ft. high, many natives of North America. Lvs. 

 lternate, mostly coarsely toothed or pinnatifid : fls. soii- 

 ary or in cymes, white, yellowish, yellow or red; petals 

 i or 10, regularly spreading, convolute in the bud, de- 

 biduous ; stamens indefinite, rarely few, inserted with 

 : ;he petals on the throat of the calyx: seeds flat. 

 They thrive in sunny, moist or dry situations 

 sheltered from strong winds. M. Lindleyi, from 

 Calif., is common in eastern gardens, where it is 

 'known as Bartonia aurea; the other species are 

 offered by western dealers, but are not generally 

 in cult. They flower in summer. Although M. 

 Lindleyi has long been a rather common plant in 

 cultivation, it is little known in the wild, being 

 probably a native of central Calif. The seeds 

 should be sown where the plants are to remain, as 

 they do not bear transplanting. 



A. Color of fls. yellow. 



B. fls. opening in bright sunshine. 



c. Petals 1 in. long. 



Lindleyi, Torr. & Gray (Bartonia aurea, 

 Lindl.). Fig. 1393. Annual: stem 1-3 ft. high, 

 branched and straggling: Ivs. 2-3 in. long: fls. 

 about 2% in. across, bright yellow, very fra- 

 grant in the evening, bracted; petals 5, broadly 

 obovate, nearly as broad as long, rounded at the 

 apex except an abrupt short point. Probably cen- 

 tral Calif. B.M.3G49. B.R. 22:1831. 



cc. Petals 2-2Yz in. long. 



laevicaulis, Torr. & Gray. Biennial: stem 2-3 

 ft. high: Ivs. 2-8 in. long: fls. yellow, 2^-3 in. 

 across, bractless; petals lanceolate, acuminate. 

 Neb. to Calif. B.B. 2:459. 



BB. Fls. opening towards night. 



nuda, Torr. & Gray. Biennial: stem somewhat 

 slender, 1-5 ft. high:* Ivs. 1-3 in. long: fls. creamy 

 white, lx^-2/^ in. across, usually bractless; petals 

 10. Dakota to Kans., Colo, and Tex. B.M. 5483 (as 

 tonianuda). B.B. 2:458. 



AA. Color of fls. pure white. 



ornata, Torr. & Gray. Annual : stem 2 ft. and more : 

 Ivs. 2-6 in. long: fls. 5 in. across, opening towards night, 

 fragrant, usually bracted; petals 10; stamens 200-300. 

 Dakota and Mont, to Tex. R.H. 1878:430. B.M. 1487 (as 

 Bartonia decapetala^ . B.B. 2: 459. 



M. B. COULSTON and W. M. 



MENYANTHES (Greek, men, a month, and anthos, 

 flower; perhaps because it flowers for about a month). 

 Gentianacece. BUCKBEAN. A genus of 2 species of 

 small perennial bog plants with creeping rootstocks and 

 small, 5-lobed white or purplish fls. borne in late spring. 

 They are procurable from dealers in native plants. The 

 genus is one of the few aquatic groups in the gentian 

 family. It is allied to Limnanthemum, but the fls. of 

 the latter are not bearded or crested on the face as they 

 are in Menyanthes. Lvs. all alternate, stalked: corolla 

 somewhat funnel- or bell-shaped; stamens inserted on 

 the tube of the corolla ; hy pogynous glands 5 : style long. 



trifoliata, Linn. BUCKBEAN. About 9-18 in. high: 

 Ifts. 3, oval or oblong-obovate, 1-1 % in. long: raceme 

 about 12-fld. Bogs, north temperate regions. B.B. 2:622. 

 V. 2:198 and 3:208. -The Ivs. are said to be used in Ger- 

 many as a substitute for hops in beer-making. A very 

 - interesting bog plant. 



MERCURY. Chenopodium Bonus-Henricus. 



MERENDERA (from quita meriendas, Spanish name 

 of Colchium autumnale; some of these plants formerly 

 considered to belong to Colchicum). Liliacece. About 

 10 species of bulbous plants, mostly natives of the Medi- 

 terranean region and Asia Minor. They belong to the 

 same tribe with Colchicum and Bulbocodium, but Colchi- 

 cum has a real corolla tube, while the other two genera 

 have 6 very long-clawed segments which are merely con- 



MERTENSIA 



1005 



nivent, forming a loose tube at first and afterwards 

 separating. In Merendera there are 3 styles which are 

 distinct from the base, while in Bulbocodium the style 

 is 3-cut only at the apex. Merenderas are low, stemless 

 plants with tunicated corms: Ivs. linear, appearing with 

 the fls. : fls. 1-3, appearing in spring or fall, mostly lilac- 

 colored. The genus is divided by Baker (Jour. Linn. 



Bar- 



1393. Mentzelia Lindleyi (X%). 



Soc. 17:438, 1880) into two groups, based on the anthers. 

 The 2 species described below belong to the group with 

 small, oblong, versatile anthers, which are fastened at 

 the middle rather than the base. They are hardy spring- 

 blooming plants with about 3 Ivs., and fls. 1-1 % in. 

 across. These rare plants are procurable from Dutch, 

 bulb-growers. They are pretty, small-fld., early-bloom- 

 ing, hardy, fragile plants which persist well under good 

 garden cultivation. 



A. Blade of petals oblanceolate, obtuse. 

 Caucasica, Bieb. The 3 outer corolla segments appen- 

 daged on each side at the junction of blade and claw ; new 

 corms sessile. Caucasus, Persia. B.M. 3690. 



AA. Blade of petals lanceolate, acute. 



sobolifera, Fisch. & Mey. Segments not appendaged: 

 a very small new corm produced at the apex of a shoot. 

 Asia Minor, Persia. 



M . Ruthenica is advertised by Van Tubergen. 



J. N. GERARD and W. M. 



MERTENSIA (after Mertens, a German botanist). 

 Borraginacece. About 15 species of perennial herbs, 

 natives of the north temperate zone, the most popular 

 of which is M. pulmonarioides, better known as M . Vir- 

 ginica, Virginia Cowslip, Blue Bells, and Virginia Lung- 

 wort. This grows 1-2 ft. high and bears more or less 

 drooping clusters of blue-belled fls. in March to May 

 (see Fig. 1394). The fls. are about 1 in. long, and 20 or 

 more in a terminal group. They have a purple tube and 

 blue bell of distinct shape, the lobes of the corolla being 

 less pronounced than in the other species. Mertensias 

 are allied to Pulmonaria, but the fls. have no bracts, as 

 in Pulmonaria. They are botanically nearer Myosotis, 

 which contains the forget-me-nots. Mertensias are gla- 

 brous or pilose : Ivs. alternate, often having pellucid 

 dots : racemes terminal or the cymes loose, few-fld., 

 1-sided, sometimes panicled : fls. blue or purplish, rarely 

 white; calyx 5-cut or 5-parted; lobes 5; stamens fastened 

 at the middle of the tube or higher. 



