1012 



MICONIA 



MIGNONETTE 



robust: Ivs. very large (becoming 2-2^ ft. long), broad- 

 ovate and wavy-edged, arched, rugose, upper surface 

 lustrous green, lower surface red, the very prominent 

 veins white or light-colored : fls. small, panicled. Mex. 

 R.H. 1859, p. 359. Discovered by Ghiesbrecht and first 

 shown by Linden in 1857. One of the best and most 

 striking of all conservatory foliage subjects. Voss 

 (Blumengartnerei) revives for this species the genus 

 Tamonea and calls it T. magnified, Voss. M. velutina, 

 Lind. & Rod. (I.H. 41:21), of Brazil, is perhaps a form 

 of this species. Its Ivs. are not arched and the colors 

 are more bronzy. 



spectanda, Rod. (Cyanophyllum spectdndum, 

 Nichols.). Lvs. oval, 1% ft. or less long, 6-7 in. broad 

 in the middle, the upper surface dark lustrous green, 

 the under side greenish red, the midrib prominent and 

 gray. Brazil. 



1400. Miconia magnifica. 

 Known to the trade as Cyanophyllum magnificum. 



Assamica (Cyanophyllum Assdmlcum, Hort.) was 

 once offered by Saul. Said to be "a very beautiful foli- 

 age plant, with large, fine foliage." Probably a smaller 

 type of M. spectanda, but very pretty when the Ivs. are 

 expanding. Said by Nicholson and Mottet to be much 

 inferior to the above. , jj. B. 



MICROKENTIA (Greek, minute Kentia). Pal- 

 macece. Here may belong the plant known to the trade 

 as Kentia gracilis. Microkentia is a genus of 6 species 

 of palms from New Caledonia. They are unarmed, with 

 slender, bamboo-like, ringed trunks. The leaf segments 

 are long-sword-shaped and distinct, or the upper ones 

 grown together into a broad 2-cut blade. The fruits in 

 this genus are amongst the smallest in the palm family. 

 The fls. also are minute. The true Kentias, of which 

 perhaps none is cultivated, have larger fls. and fruits, 

 the former white, the latter vermilion. The anthers are 

 fixed at the base in Kentia, but dorsifixed and versatile 

 in Microkentia. Microkentia is nearer Clinostigma and 

 Cyphosperma, but in these the leaf segments are irreg- 

 ularly bitten off at the apex. Kentia gracilis, Brong. 

 & Gris. = Microkentia gracilis, Benth. & Hook. It is 

 possible that the Kentia gracilis of the trade is Ken- 

 tiopsis divaricata (which see). 



MICROLEPIA (Greek, a small scale; alluding to the 

 indusium). Poly podidc eve. A genus of graceful green- 

 house ferns, allied to Davallia, but having the shallow, 

 half -cup-shaped, membranous indusium attached to the 



sides as well as the base; the stalks are also continuous 

 with the rootstock, and not joined to them, as in the 

 true Davallias. Twenty or more species are known. 

 For cultivation, see Davallia. 



A. Lvs. once-pinnate. 



marginalis, Baker (M. scabra, Hort.). Lvs. rising 

 from a creeping rootstock, 18-24 in. long, 9-15 in. wide, 

 with linear pinnae, which are cut about half way to the 

 rachis into bluntish, oblong lobes. Ceylon to China. 



B. Lvs. trl-quadriplnnatifld. 



platyphylla, Don. Lvs. 3-4 ft. long, on stout stalks 

 from a stout, scaly rootstock. tripinnatifid; ultimate di- 

 visions broad, bluntish, toothed, oblong, deltoid; sori 

 2-12 to a segment, one in each tooth. India to Japan. 



hirta, Kaulf. Lvs. 3-6 ft. long, on stout stalks, tri- 

 quadriphmatifid; ultimate divisions oblong, broadly 

 toothed; rachises hairy or pubescent; sori 2-20 to a seg- 

 ment, 1 or more together at the base of the teeth. 

 India and Polynesia. Var. cristata is also offered by the 

 trade. F. 1878, p. 59. Gn. 31, p. 428. F. R. 1:769. -M. 

 cristata, Hort., presumably belongs here. 



M. hispida, Hort.=? L. M. UNDERWOOD. 



MICROMERIA (mikros, small, meris, a part: small 

 flowered). Labidtte. This genus comprises about 

 species of herbs and subshrubs, generally distribut< 

 in tropical and temperate regions, especially in tl 

 Mediterranean countries. Lvs. usually small, entire 

 toothed : whorls axillary or in terminal spikes : fls. small ; 

 calyx 13-nerved, 5-toothed or 2-lipped. corolla 2-lipi 

 upper lip erect, flattish, entire or notched, lower spread- 

 ing, 5-lobed; stamens 4. 



A. Fls. 1-3 In the axils. 



Douglasii, Benth. YERBA BUENA. Perennial: stems 

 long, slender, trailing and creeping, with sweet-scented 

 round or oval Ivs., 1 in. or less across: fls. purplish, 

 mostly solitary in the axils, on long, 2-bracted pedicels. 

 Woodlands, from Vancouver's Is. to S. Calif. Sandy 

 soil. -Offered by E. Gillett, 1881. 



AA. Fls. numerous In the axils. 



rup6stris, Benth. A dense, low-growing perennial 

 plant, woody at the base, with prostrate stems, which 

 turn up at the extremities, giving a heath-like effect 

 when in bloom. Lvs. have the odor and taste of penny- 

 royal: fls. abundant, small, white, with lavender spots 

 on the inner side of corolla lobes, borne for several 

 inches along the stems. Prop, from cuttings and seeds. 

 J. N. Gerard writes that it blooms from July until heavy 

 frosts, and proves very satisfactory for rockery and in- 

 formal border. Not advertised in American catalogues, 

 but is in cult, by amateurs. S. Eu. jyi. 3. COULSTON. 



MICR6STYLIS (Greek, small style}. Orchiddcece. 

 About a dozen species of this genus are in cultivation in 

 the Old World. No species have found their way into the 

 American trade. They are herbs of terrestrial habit, 

 cult, for their richly colored Ivs. The species in cult, 

 are all from tropical countries, and require a close, 

 damp house or, better, a Wardian case or bell-jar, 

 within which the air maybe kept moist enough for their 

 requirements. The Ivs. are more or less broadly ovate, 

 rather succulent, with sheathing bases. They are mostly 

 beautifully colored. The fls. are borne in terminal ra- 

 cemes, like those of Goodyera. 



HEINRICH HASSELBRING. 



The Mycrostylis are deciduous orchids. They grow 

 well in the warm end of the cattleya department, or 

 better still treated like thunias or calanthes, a rather 

 warm, moist atmosphere when growing in spring, 

 ducing the same toward late summer as they begin, 

 lose their foliage, and eventually resting them quite di 

 in a temperature of about 60 F. during winter. Thej 

 will probably suffer in a Wardian case or bell-gl 

 They certainly will after growth is completed, if not 

 all times. R. M. GREY. 



MIGNONETTE (Fig. 1401) is a universal favorit 

 Though there are many fragrant flowers of easy cult 

 vation that exceed the Mignonette in beauty, it is prol 



