1052 



MYOPORUM 



MYRICA 



AA. Lvs. linear. 



parvifdlium, R. Br. (M. album, Hort.). Procumbent 

 shrub: stems 2ft. long or more: Ivs. %-\ in. long, linear 

 or linear-spatulate, thick, sparingly dentate toward the 

 apex fls. with rather acute lobes which are woolly 

 within. Austral. B.M. 1693. L.B.C. 9:837. Gn. 24, p. 

 361. V. 7:20. Not advertised in America. 



M verrucbsum, Poir., is offered. Franceschi writes that it is a 

 quick-growing shrub, and among the best plants to grow near 

 the sea. He says it has pretty white fls. and purple berries. 



W. M. 



MYOSOTfDIUM (Greek, like a forget-me-not). Bor- 

 raginacew. A genus of only one species, known as the 

 Giant Forget-me-not. It comes from the Chatham 

 Islands, off New Zealand, and is neither hardy nor 

 suited to general greenhouse culture, but it should be 

 tried by some of our expert southern amateurs. The 

 individual fls. are about % in. across, and as many as 

 30-60 in a cluster. A plant grown outdoors in Cornwall, 

 England, had about 20 such clusters. The fls. are 5- 

 lobed and not a pure blue, being whitish toward the 

 margins. They are borne on a stout, succulent stem 

 \% ft. high. The root-lvs. are very large and numerous, 

 heart-shaped, and with stalks 9 in. long. 



This choice plant first flowered in Europe in 1858, but 

 the whole stock died, apparently without flowering 

 again. About 1883, fresh seeds were imported, and in a 

 few favored localities in England the plant succeeded. 

 In 1890 it was offered in America. Writers in " The Gar- 

 den " give the following hints as to culture : The plants 

 require plenty of air and should be well syringed in 

 warm weather and shaded from the midday sun in sum- 

 mer. They should be kept absolutely free from insects, 

 particularly aphids. The fine specimen grown in the 

 Cornish garden (Gn. 50, p. 150) was placed under a 

 high wall with a southern aspect, and sea sand piled 

 about the roots. 



As a genus, Myosotidium is close to Myosotis, but 

 Bentham & Hooker consider its flowers nearest to Cyno- 

 glossum and its fruits nearest to Rindera. 



nobile, Hook. GIANT FORGET-ME-NOT. Root-lvs. gla- 

 brous, glossy, succulent, parallel-veined, obtuse or re- 

 tuse; petioles thick, grooved above. B.M. 5137. Gn. 

 30:575 and 50, p. 150. G.C. II. 25:681; III. 21:293. 

 G.M. 31:219. J.H. III. 32:327. 



MYOSOTIS (Greek, signifying mouse-ear, from the 

 leaves). Borragindcece. FORGET-ME-NOT. SCORPION 

 GRASS. A large genus of low, perennial or annual, more 

 or less hairy, branching, diffuse or erect herbs, inhabit- 

 ing both the north and south temperate zones, but the 

 cultivated forms coming mainly from Europe. Lvs. al- 

 ternate, entire: fls. small, in 1-sided, bractless, at first 

 recurved, terminal racemes; calyx small, 5-cleft; corolla 

 salverform, 5-lobed, the throat crested; stamens 5, in- 

 cluded : ovary of 4 almost separate lobes, in fruit form- 

 ing 4 smooth nutlets attached to the receptacle by their 

 bases. The following are all hardy at the North and are 

 grown in America mainly for out-of-door planting. The 

 fls. are normally blue, often purple when young and 

 turning blue with age. White-fld. forms (var. alba) of 

 all the species may occur. J. B. Keller writes that 

 Forget-me-nots prefer moist, half-shady places, but that 

 an open, sunny border will do if it is not excessively 

 dry. The perennials are easily propagated by division 

 or cuttings. 



A. Hairs of the calyx all straight, appressed: 



perennials. 



B. Lobes of the calyx much shorter than the tube. 

 palustris, Lam. TRUE FORGET-ME-NOT. Stems from 

 slender, stolon-like rootstocks, slender, decumbent, and 

 rooting below, appressed, pubescent or nearly glabrous, 

 6-18 in. long: Ivs. oblong-lanceolate or oblanceolate, 

 nearly sessile: raceme loosely-fld. : pedicels in fruit 

 much longer than the calyx, spreading; lobes of the 

 calyx deltoid, acutish : corolla bright blue, with a yellow 

 eye, limb flat, 3-4 lines broad: nutlets angled and keeled 

 on the inner side. May, June. Europe, Asia. G.C. III. 

 22:307. Gn. 52, p. 461. -Requires damp, shady ground. 

 Escaped from cult, in the eastern states. Var. semper- 



florens, Hort., is a dwarf form, 8 in. high, flowering all 

 summer. 



BB. Lobes of the calyx as long as or longer than 

 the tube. 



laxa, Lehm. Similar to the preceding species, and 

 also rooting at the lower nodes, pubescence all appressed 

 and scanty or wanting: racemes even more loosely-fld.: 

 calyx lobes much longer, ovate-lanceolate, acute; corolla 

 limb smaller and concave, about 2 lines broad, paler 

 blue; throat yellow: nutlets equally convex both sides. 

 May, June. North Europe, Asia, Amer. Grows best in 

 muddy places. 



Azdrica, H. C. Wats. Decumbent at the base and dif- 

 fusely branched, 1 ft. high, densely setose-hispid, with 

 reflexed hairs: Ivs. oblong, obtuse or retuse, appressed 

 hairy above, hirsute with reflexed hairs below: racemes 

 sub-secund, dense: calyx almost 5-parted; teeth linear, 

 spreading, clothed with erect, appressed hairs: pedicel 

 about equaling the calyx: corolla larger than in the 

 last, 3-3 % lines broad, deeper indigo-blue; throat with 

 a whitish eye. Azores. B.M. 4122. V. 6: 75. -Suitable 

 for planting in damp, shady soil. Var. coe!6stina, Hort., 

 is a form with light blue fls. 



AA. Hairs of the calyx, or at least some of them, hooked, 

 spreading. 



B. Corolla small, about 1 line broad: limb concave: 

 calyx hairs all hooked. 



arv6nsia, Lam. Annual or biennial, erect, branched, 

 7-20 in. high, hirsute-pubescent: Ivs. oblong or oblan- 

 ceolate, sessile, obtuse or acutish: raceme loosely-tid. : 

 pedicels in fruit much longer than the calyx: calyx 

 deeply 5-parted ; lobes equal, linear, acutish ; co- 

 rolla blue or white, 1-1% lines broad: nutlet convex 

 outside, keeled inside. June-Aug. Eu., Asia. Will 

 grow well in dry ground. 



BB. Corolla larger, 3-4 lines broad: limb flat: calyx 

 with only the lower hairs hooked. 



sylvatica, Hoffm. Perennial, hirsute-pubescent, and 

 either green or cinereous, erect, 1-2 ft. high, branched 

 above: Ivs. oblong-linear or oblanceolate, nearly sessile, 

 acutish: pedicels usually much exceeding the calyx: 

 calyx deeply cleft, hirsute, the hairs, except a few at the 

 base, erect and straight: racemes long and loose: co- 

 rolla blue, 3-4 lines broad, with a yellow eye: nutlets 

 more or less margined and carinate ventrally, sessile. 

 Spring. Dry soil, Eu., N. Asia. Common in cultivation. 



Var. alpestris, Koch (M. alpestris, F. W. Schmidt). 

 Differs from the type only in its dwarf habit, 3-8 in. 

 high, more dense raceme, with shorter, thicker, ascend- 

 ing-pedicels, rarely longer than the calyx: nutlets 

 larger. Summer. Eu. G.C. III. 17:650. Flowers said to 

 be fragrant in the evening. Var. stricta, Hort. All the 

 branches erect and strict: appearance peculiar. G.T. 

 45, p. 609. Var. aurea, Hort. Foliage golden yellow. 



dissitifldra, Baker. Biennial : very similar in 

 habit to M. sylvatica, but lower, 6-8 in. high, whole 

 plant clothed with erect-spreading or appressed short 

 hairs: Ivs. large, spatulate-oblong, acute, bright green: 

 fruiting racemes more elongated: pedicels ascending or 

 incurved, 2-3 times longer than the calyx: hooked hairs 

 almost absent: calyx segments lanceolate, much longer 

 than the tube; corolla 4-5 lines in diam. The most im- 

 portant difference is in the nutlets, which are distinctly 

 stipitate. Spring. Switzerland. R.H. 1896, p. 278. 

 Var. elegantissima, Hort. Lvs. white-edged. The name 

 M. elegantissima has also been applied to forms of M. 

 valustris and sylvatica. K. M. WIEGAND. 



MYKlCA (ancient name of no application). Myri- 

 cacew. This includes a Japanese fruit tree which bears 

 black or red fruits something like a blackberry. It was 

 introduced to cult, in Calif, in 1889 under the name of 

 M. rubra and fully described in the Pacific Rural Press," 

 from which the following account is chiefly derived. The 

 tree attains 40-50 ft. The foliage is magnolia-like, ever- 

 green and leathery. The fruit ripens in July. It is almost 

 globular, being about 1 in. long and % in. broad. It is 

 densely covered with small elevations, and contains a 

 single seed-stone of light weight. There are 2 varieties 



