1026 



MOLUCCELLA 



nutleis appear in the cup or shell-like calyx, and add 

 to the interest, The corollas are gaping, the upper lip 

 forming a sort of hood, which may be notched or not, 

 the lower lip 3-cut, the side lobes being oblong and 

 somewhat erect, the middle one larger, inversely heart- 

 shaped and deeply notched. Of 25 described names 

 only 2 now remain in this genus as good species. Ben- 

 tham & Hooker place this genus near Lamium. Other 

 genera of garden value in which the upper lip of the 

 corolla is concave or vaulted and often villous within 

 are Stachys, Leonurus and Phlomis. Prom these Mo- 

 luccella is easily distinguished by its calyx. These 

 plants are hardy annuals, flowering in midsummer. The 

 fls. are white, tipped pink, scarcely, if at all, thrust out 

 of the calyx, and borne in whorls of 6-10. 

 A. Calyx not prickly. 



l&vis, Linn. SHELL FLOWER. MOLUCCA BALM. Fig. 

 1414. Height 2-3 ft.: Ivs. roundish, with coarse round 

 teeth: calyx obscurely 5-angled. W. Asia. B.M. 1852. 

 Fls. odorous. 



AA. Calyx beset with long prickles. 



spindsa, Linn. Height 6-8 ft. : Ivs. ovate, deeply and 

 sharply cut: calyx with 1 long spine above and 7 others 

 below. S. Eu., Syria. B.R. 15:1244 (as Chasmonia in- 

 cisa). Annual or biennial, with brownish red square 

 stems, bristling calyx and gaping corolla. Said to have 

 been cult, in Eng. s'ince 1596. w. M. 



MOM6KDICA (mordeo, to bite, since the seeds appear 

 to have been bitten). Citcurbitacece. There are 25 spe- 

 cies of Momordica, chiefly African, according to Cog- 

 niaux (DC. Monogr. Phaner. 3 ) . They are annual or per- 

 ennial tendril-climbing herbs of tropical countries, some 

 of which are cult, for ornament and also for the edible 

 fruits. The fls. are monoecious or dioscious, the stami- 

 ,nate solitary or panicled, the pistillate solitary. Corolla 

 And calyx similar in sterile and fertile fls. : corolla seg- 

 ments 5, often extending nearly to the base, making a 

 rotate or broadly campanulate flower; stamens usually 

 3, the short filaments free, one of the anthers 1-loculed 

 and the others 2-loculed : style single and long, with 3 

 stigmas: fr. oblong or nearly spherical, small, often 

 rough, usually many-seeded, sometimes splitting into 

 3 valves, but usually indehiscent: seeds usually flat- 

 tened, often oddly marked or sculptured. Tendrils sim- 

 plein this distinguished from Luffa. Momordicas are 

 known to American gardens as ornamental vines, but 

 the fruits of M. Charantia are eaten by the American 

 Chinese. They are tender annuals. They thrive where 

 ^cucumbers and gourds will. M. Jtflaterium of the cata- 

 Jogues is Ecballium, which see. 



A. Bract about midway on the peduncle, entire: all 

 peduncles bracted. 



Charantia, Linn. BALSAM PEAR. Running 10 ft. or 

 more, the stem slightly pubescent and furrowed: Ivs. 

 ^roundish, dull green, pubescent beneath (at least on the 

 ribs), 5-7 lobes with rounded sinuses, the lobes sharp- 

 toothed and notched: fls. yellow, 1 in. across, both the 

 sterile and fertile solitary: fr. yellowish, oblong, pointed, 

 furrowed lengthwise and tuberculate, 6 or 7 in. long, 

 at maturity splitting into 3 divisions and disclosing the 

 bright scarlet arils of the white or brown carved seeds. 

 'Trop. Asia and Africa, and naturalized in W. Indies. 

 B. M. 2455. A. G. 13:525. R. H. 1869, pp. 630-1. -The 

 -Chinese about the American cities grow this plant under 

 the name of La-kwa, for the edible pulpy arils sur- 

 rounding the seeds, and also for the edible fruit itself 

 (which is prepared, usually by boiling, before it is ripe). 

 The rind is sometimes dried and used in medicinal 

 preparations (see Bailey, Bull. 67, Cornell Exp. Sta., 

 with illustr.). The odd seeds cause it to be called the 

 "Art Pumpkin" by some. 



AA. Bract of sterile peduncle near the top, toothed: pe- 

 duncle of fertile flower bracted at base or not 

 at all. 



Balsamina, Linn. BALSAM APPLE. Slenderer and 

 more graceful, bright green throughout, glabrous, the 

 foliage smaller and neater: Ivs. cordate-orbicular in 

 outline, 3 in. or less across, 3-5-lobed, with rounded 

 sinuses, the lobes and the few notches or teeth acute: 



MONARDA 



fls. solitary, nearly or quite 1 in. across, yellow, often 

 with blackish center: fr. orange, 2-3 in. long, ovoid and 

 more or less narrowed each way, smooth or tuberculate: 

 seeds compressed, nearly smooth. Widely distributed 

 in Africa and Asia, and naturalized in the W. Indies 

 G.C. 1848:271. R.H. 1857, p. 182. -A neat vine, growing 

 4-6 ft. 



AAA. Bract near the top of the sterile peduncle, entire. 



involucrata, E. Meyer. Much like M. Balsamina, but 

 teeth of Ivs. blunt, with a short mucro, fls. larger, bract 

 much larger: fls. white or cream-white, often dotted 

 with black: fr. sulfur-yellow, changing to scarlet, burst- 

 ing, 2 in. long. S. Afr. R.H. 1865:350 (as M. Balsamina, 

 var. leiicantha). B.M. 6932. A very slender and grace- 

 ful climber, with the peduncle bract against the calyx, 

 like an involucre. Int. to Amer. trade about 1890. 



M. Cochinchinensis, Spreng. (M. mixta, Roxbg.\ is a large 

 species with 3-lobed Ivs., pale yellow, purple-eyed fls., 4 in. 

 across, and an oblong, bright red fr. 4-7 in. long. Farther In- 

 dia. B.M. 5145. F.S. 14:1478. G.C. III. 16:531. GKM. 37:777. - 



L. H. B. 



MONARDA (after Nicolas Monardes, a Spaniard, who 

 published in 1571 a book containing the earliest picture of 

 an American plant. See Fig. 1077). Labi&tce. HORSI 

 MINT. This includes the Oswego Tea (M. didyma 

 one of the most brilliant of our native wild flowers, be 

 ing surpassed in the intensity of its red only by the car- 

 dinal flower. It is a rather coarse herb, with large heads 

 of gaping, wide-mouthed fls., which have none of th 

 refinement of our cardinal flower. For mass effects, 



1415. Monarda didyma (X%). 



however, these plants are very striking. They grow 

 wild along the banks of streams, lighting up the dark 

 corners of the woods. This suggests their proper place 

 in landscape gardening. They should be grown in 

 masses, in wild spots against a dark background. How- 

 ever, they can, if desired, be grown in an ordinary sunny 

 border without more moisture than usual. As a bedding 

 plant they would be inferior to Salvia coccinea, th( 

 flowers being shorter-lived. The white- and rose-coloi 

 varieties are less desirable. M. fistulosa is the sai 

 type of plant, and is procurable in colors ranging froi 

 white, flesh color and lilac, through rose and crimson 

 deep purple, but not scarlet. This species is very v* 

 able in height. The lighter colored varieties are usi 

 ally less robust. 



Monardas are easy of culture, thriving in any 

 soil. They spread quickly, and therefore need frequei 

 separation, which operation is best done in the spring 

 as plants disturbed in the fall will often winter-kill. 



Monarda is a genus of 9 species of aromatic Americai 

 herbs: Ivs. usually dentate: fls. often borne in dense 

 heads, surrounded by an involucre of colored bracts; 

 calyx tubular, 15-nerved, with 5 nearly equal teeth; 



