1008 



MESEMBRYANTHEMUM 



AA. PAPULOSA: Plant usually bearing glittering pa- 

 pillae, vesicles or projections on stems and Ivs., 

 hence the popular name Ice Plant ( species 24-33) . 

 B. Root annual or biennial (cult, as annuals), 

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

 24. crystallinum, 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- 



1396, Common Ice-plant Mesembryanthemum crystallinum. 



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

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

 Fls. open in the sun. 



cc. Fls. yellow, long-peduncled. 



25. pomeridianum, 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. glabrum, Ait. Glabrous : Ivs. lance-spatulate, 

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

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



BB. Hoot perennial and the stem becoming somewhat 



woody. 

 C. Lvs. flat, petiolate. 



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

 papillose: Ivs. opposite, 1 in. or less long and 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. Slogans, Jacq. Shrubby, 6-12 in. or more tall, 

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

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

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

 long. 



CCC. Lvs. terete or nearly so. 

 D. Branches hispid or bristly. 



29. subcompr6ssum, Haw. Erect, 2 ft.: Ivs. not 

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

 ish canescent, flattened -terete : fls. solitary, purplish; 

 calyx lobes unequal. 



30. floribundum, Haw. Tortuous in growth, the 

 branches not over 6 in. long, more or less decumbent: 

 Ivs. less than 1 in. long, very narrow, terete, curved, 

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

 axillary, rose-color, the 5 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. not crowded, % in. long, spreading, 

 green and pellucid, semi-cylindrical, with 5 or 6 hairs 

 at the end: fls. solitary, reddish, the petals entire and 

 2-3 times longer than the calyx. 



MESPILUS 



32. stellatum, Mill. Three or 4 in. high, fleshy and 

 tufted: Ivs. crowded, % in. long, glaucous, semi-cylin- 

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

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

 % in. long. 



33. densum, Haw. Much like the last: Ivs. longer, 

 flattish above and convex beneath, ciliate also at the 

 base: calyx longer: fls. reddish violet. R.H. 1869, p. 356. 



Accessible pictures of Mesembryanthemums which are not 

 mentioned in American lists, are as follows: M. Bolusii,. 

 Hook. f. B. M. 6664. M. Brownii, Hook. f. B. M. 6985. M. 

 crinifldrum. Linn. R. H. 1857, p. 122 (as M. cuneifolium). M. 

 ficiforme, Haw. G. C. II. 25:373. M. minutum, Haw. R. H. 

 1869, p. 356.-M. pugioniforme, Linn. R. H. 1857, p. 178.-JT. 

 roseum, Willd. Gn. 52, p. 439. M. testiculdtum, Jacq. R. H. 

 1869, p. 35 (as M. octophyllum). L jj 3 



MESOSPINlDIUM (Greek compound; meaning ob- 

 scure). Orchiddcece. The plants cultivated as Mesospi- 

 nidium are referred by some to the genus Cochlioda. They 

 have the habit of a slender Odontoglossum, with sheath- 

 ing Ivs. 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 c> ' 

 umn, with rounded lateral lobes and a narrow midc 

 lobe: column long or short: pollinia2, seated onarhoi 

 boid pedicel. These plants are evergreen coolhov 

 orchids, and thrive well in baskets of peat and mos 

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

 which the following is often cultivated: 



sangnfneum, Reichb. f. Pseudobulbs oval, 2-lvd., 

 mottled: Ivs. ligulate, sharp-pointed, shorter than the' 

 many-fld. drooping panicle: fls. numerous, small, vivid 

 rose; the lower sepals are partially united, oblong; 

 petals cuneate-ovate. Peruvian Andes. B.M. 5627. 



M. vulcdnicum, Reichb. f.', is described as Cochlioda vulcan- 

 ica (p. 341) , its proper name. HEINRICH HASSELBRING. 



MESPILUS (Greek, substantive name). Rosacece. 

 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 

 top of the ovaries not covered by the over-growing 

 receptacle. There is but one species of true Mespilus, 

 but some authors (e. g., Focke, in Engler & Prantl's 

 "Die Naturlichen Pflan- 

 zenfamilien") include 

 some of the Crattegus 

 species in the genus. 



The common Medlar 

 is Mespilus Germanica, 

 Linn., native to Central 

 Europe. To a consider- 

 able extent in parts of 

 Europe it is grown for 

 its acid fruits, but in this 

 country it is very little 

 known. It is perfectly 

 hardy in central New 

 York, and its cultivation 

 requires no special treat- 

 ment or skill. It makes 

 a twiggy, tough-wooded 

 bush or small tree, 10 to 

 15 feet high, bearing 

 large white blossoms late 

 in May or early in June, 

 after the leaves are full 

 size. The foliage is soft 

 and luxuriant ; leaves 1397 - 



lance-oblong or long-ob- Medlar Mespilus Germar 

 long, pubescent, simple, Natural size. 



serrate. The fruit (Fig. 



1397) remains hard and austere until mellowed by 

 frosts. With the 'freezing and the incipient decay, the 

 fruit becomes brown and soft. It is usually picked 

 after it is touched by frost and laid away on shelves 

 or in drawers in a cool, dry room; the ripening process 

 which follows is known as bletting. When finally soft- 

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

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

 good preserves. 



