452 A TEXT-BOOK OF BOTANY. 



Mastic. Gr. jiaarixti, from fiaaa.onai t to chew. Used in the East as a 



chewing gum. 

 Matico. Dried leaves of Piper angusti folium. Said to have been named 



from a Spanish soldier, who applied the green plant to a wound and 



stopped the bleeding. 

 Matricaria. Wild chamomile. From Lat, matrix, the womb ; in allusion to 



its supposed effect on that organ. 

 Medicus-a-um. Medical, curative. 

 Melaleuca. Cajaputi. From Gr. ptAaf, black, + Aewdf, white; the bark 



of the trunk being black, that of the branches white. 



Melilotus. Sweet clover. From Gr. /*/U, honey, + Awrof, a kind of clover. 

 Melissa. Balm. From Gr. peAtoaa, a bee ; the flowers yielding an abund- 

 ance of honey. 

 Menispermum. Moonseed. From Gr. p^Wf, crescent, -f- oiripfia, seed ; in 



reference to the crescent-shaped seeds. 



Mentha. Mint. The ancient Latin name. From Gr. piv0ti t mint. 

 Menyanthes. Buckbean. Probably from Gr. fj.ijv t month, -f- &v0of t a flower. 



Perhaps because it blooms for about a month. 



Mercurialis. Mercury. Ancient Latin name of a plant ; meaning belong- 

 ing to Mercury, the messenger of the gods. 



Methysticum. Kava-kava. Gr. pe6vani(6f t intoxicating; from fttOv, wine. 

 Meum. Spignel. Bearwort. The ancient Greek name .(^ot/). 

 Mezereum. French mczercon, from Persian mdzriyun. 

 Microcarpus-a-um. Having small fruit. From Gr. fUKp6f } small, -f- 



Kapir6f t fruit. 

 Mikania. Climbing hempwood. Named for J. G. Mikan, professor in the 



University of Prague, who died in 1814. 



Milaceus-a-um. Of or pertaining to millet, Lat. milium, millet. 

 Millefolium. Yarrow. The ancient Latin name; from mille, thousand, -f- 



folium, leaf. 

 Mitchella. Partridge berry. Named for Dr. John Mitchell, a botanist of 



Virginia, eighteenth century. 

 Mitella. Mitrewort. Bishop's cap. Diminutive of Lat. mitra, a cap; 



alluding to the form of the young pod. 

 MolHs-e. Pliant, soft, mild. 

 Monarda. Horse mint. Named for Nicholas Monardes, Spanish botanist 



and author of the sixteenth century. 

 Monniera. Hedge hyssop. Named for Prof. L. Guillaume le Monnier, 



a French botanist of the eighteenth century. 

 Monotropa. Indian pipe. From Gr. fidvof, one, + rpom/, a turn ; the 



summit of the stem being turned to one side. 

 Montanus-a-um. Belonging to the mountain, mountainous. 

 Morus. Mulberry. Ancient Latin name for the mulberry tree. 

 Mucuna. Cowhage. From the vernacular Brazilian name. 



