MITELLA 



MIT£LLA (diminutive of mitrn, a cap; applied to the 

 form of the young pod). Saxifra!irlce(r. Mttrewort. 

 Bishop' s-CAP. Six or 7 species of low, slender peren- 

 nials, with somewhat creeping rootstocks and racemes 

 of small and greenish or white fls. Closely related to 

 Tiarella, but t'ue petals of the latter are entire, while in 

 Mitella they are beautifully 

 pinnatifid. Lvs. round, 

 lieart-shaped. alternate, ex- 



MOLUCCELLA 



1025 



vate in the bud, 

 ; petals 5, inserted 

 of ealyx,very slen- 

 leus 10 or ,5, very 

 . soon widely de- 

 Natives of N. 

 species in E.Asia. 

 hy some dealers 

 plants. 



A. Scapes usually leafless. 

 B. Fls. numerous. 

 trifida, Graham. Lvs. 

 round-reniform or cordate, 

 crenately toothed and some- 

 times incised or lobed, 1-3 

 in, across: scape 9-12 in. 

 long: fls. somewhat scattered 

 on one side of spike; petals 

 3-5-parted, small; stamens 

 5, opposite the calyx lobes. 

 N. Calif, to Brit. Col. and 

 Rockv Mts. 



Fls 



(about 



uiida, Linn. Fig. 

 1413. Lvs. rounded or kid- 

 ney-shaped, deeply and dou- 

 bly crenate : raceme 4-6 in. 

 long. Does well in moist 

 shady situations. May-July. 

 Westward to Brit. Col. A. 

 G. 13:518. 



hian 



leaves. 



caulescens, Nutt. Raceme 

 iivc> : stamens alternate 

 nil I In- pinnatifid petals, 

 to Ore. 

 HB. Lis. on scape opposite. 

 diphylla, Linn. Lvs. 

 acutely heart-shaped, some- 

 what 3-5-lobed, toothed : ra- 

 6-8 in. long. May. 

 Eastern U. S. V. 12:189.- 

 A good plant for the rockery. ji. B. CouLSTON. 



MITKEWORT. Mitella. False Mitrewort is Tinre/fa. 



MITKIOSTlGMA {Greek, milre-sliaped stigma ; from 

 the conspicuous stigma, which is club-shaped, the 2-cut 

 summit suggesting a cap). Mubidceoe. This includes 

 the charming evergreen tender shrub known to the 

 trade as Gardenia citriodora. It makes a low or medium- 

 sized bush of compact and branching habit and bears a 

 great profusion of fls. which resemble those of the 

 orange in odor, size, color and general appearance. The 

 fls. are white, salver-shaped, 5-lobed, tipped with pink 

 in the bud, and borne in dense axillary clusters. This 

 delightful plant is a favorite in the South, together with 

 the Cape Jessamine, but is little known in northern con- 

 servatories. The genus contains 2 species. For distinc- 

 tions from Gardenia and Randia, see Gardenia. 



axill4ie, Hochst. {Gardenia citrioddra, Hook.). Lvs. 

 opposite, petiolate, elliptic-lanceolate, subacuminate, 



glabrous; stipules awl-shaped from a broad base: calyx 

 not ribbed, lobes lanceolate, acuminate, equal: corolla 

 tube twice as long as the calyx, lobes obovate, obtuse. 

 S. Afr. B.M. 4987. B.H. 1859, p. 175 ; 1886:348 (excel- 

 lent!). P.S. 12:1254. -^v. M. 



M'MAHON. See p. 963. 



MOCK ORANGE. See Philadelphus. 



MOHRIA (from Daniel Mohr, a German botanist; died 

 1808). &lii2ieicete. A genus of South African ferns, 

 having the habit of Cheilanthes, but the sporangia of 

 the Schizseacese. A single species, M. caffrbrum, is rare 

 in cultivation in America. l. jj. Undekwood. 



MOLE PLANT. Euplxorbia Lathyris (see Fig. 800, 

 p. 564). 



MOLlNIA (J.Molina, a writer upon Chilean plants). 

 Graminece. A genus of perennial grasses allied to Era- 

 grostis, containing a single species. Native of central 

 Europe and temperate Asia, and sparingly introduced 

 in the United States. Panicle contracted: spikelets 2-4- 

 fld., more or less purplish: glumes somewhat unequal: 

 fl. -glume 3-nerved, rounded on back, pointed butawnless. 



csertlea, Moench (A)ra cwriilea, Linn.). Culms tufted, 

 1-3 ft. high: lvs. rather rigid, slender pointed. The 

 usual form in cult, is var. yariegata, with striped lvs., 

 used for bedding. a. S. Hitchcock. 



MOLUCCA BALM. Moluccella loicis. 



M0LUCCI:LLA (diminutive made from Molucca). 

 A\tiO ■written Mollucella. Labiata. This includes the 

 Shell Flower, a quaint old annual plant, that self-sows 







1414. Moluccella tevis (X>a)- 



in old-fashioned gardens, but is now rarely advertised 

 for sale. Its chief feature is its great cup-shaped calyx 

 an inch long, which is much larger than the inconspicu- 

 ous corolla (See Fig. 1414.) Later four white seeds or 



