AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



239 



MAG 



mit of the branches. The flowers are pure 

 white, with a purple spot at the base of the 

 petals, and are from eight to twelve inches in 

 width, and deliciously fragrant. This species 

 is not considered sufficiently hardy to with- 

 stand the severity of our winters. It is to be 

 regretted that it has such a reputation, as it 

 is in a great measure unjust. It might not 

 succeed in the more exposed situations, but 

 there is scarcely a fine suburban place around 

 New York that has not some sheltered, cosy 

 corner in which this noble tree would not de- 

 light to grow. There is upon the Manice 

 estate at Queens, Long Island, a tree of this 

 species that was planted more than fifty years 

 ago, and is now fifty or more feet high, with 

 a boll a foot in diameter. There is upon this 

 tree every year hundreds of flowers, and it is 

 no less conspicuous in autumn, with its large 

 heads of bright scarlet fruit. It also suc- 

 ceeds well up the Hudson River. Young 

 trees are easily produced from seed. M. 

 hypoleuca, a Japanese species of great beauty, 

 has leaves a foot long, glaucous beneath, and 

 sometimes purple tinted above, with a red 

 midrib and leaf stem. The flowers are large, 

 creamy-white, delightfully fragrant, and 

 bloom in June after the foliage is developed. 

 M stellata, known as Hall's Japan Magnolia, is 

 another very desirable species. Its form is 

 low and shrub-like, flowers pure white and 

 delicately fragrant. It blooms earlier than 

 any other Magnolia, and is very showy. M. 

 Campbellii, introduced from the Himalayas in 

 1858, the flowers of which are pale rose in- 

 side, crimson outside, and slightly fragrant, 

 is an exceedingly handsome deciduous 

 species, probably not entirely hardy 

 in the Northern States. M. con- 

 spicua, or M. Yulan, is a native of China, 

 where it attains a height of forty or fifty feet. 

 It is perfectly hardy in this latitude, and re- 

 markable for the great number of white 

 flowers produced in spring, before the 

 leaves are developed. M. purpurea and M. 

 Soulangeana, are deciduous, like the former, 

 and are in all respects similar, except that the 

 flowers are purple outside and white within. 

 These two species contrast finely with M. 

 Conspicua, when planted together upon the 

 lawn. M. fuscata, a green-house evergreen 

 from China, is a low-growing shrub, with 

 small glossy leaves, and dull purple flowers 

 of exquisite fragrance. There are many 

 other species and varieties, but those de- 

 scribed are the best representatives. 



Magnolia'ceee. A natural order of trees or 

 shrubs, with alternate, leathery, sometimes 

 dotted leaves, and showy, often fragrant 

 flowers, natives of tropical and eastern Asia, 

 and North America. They possess bitter, 

 tonic, and aromatic qualities. There are 

 about a dozen genera and upward of seventy 

 species. Examples : Ulicium, Drimys, and 

 Liriodendron. 



Maguey-fibre Plant. Yarious species of 

 Agave. 



Mahe'rnia. An anagram of Hermannia, an 

 allied genus. Nat. Ord. Sterculiacea. 



A genus of neat little green-house shrubs, 

 growing about two feet high, and remarkable 

 for the profusion of their fragrant yellow, or 

 red and yellow flowers. The yellow M. 

 odorata, is the best known. They are easily 



MAL 



grown in the green-house with ordinary 

 treatment. All the species are from the 

 Cape of Good Hope, were introduced early 

 in the present century, and are easily increas- 

 ed by cuttings of the young shoots. 

 Mahogany-Tree. Swietenia Mahagoni. 



Maho'nia. In honor of Bernard McMahon, an 

 American botanist. Nat. Ord. Berberidacets. 

 A genut of handsome hardy and half-hardy 

 evergreen shrubs, most of which are now in- 

 cluded in the genus Berberis. M. Bealii has 

 large leaves of a yellowish green tint, com- 

 posed of broad spiny leaflets of irregular out- 

 line, and terminal clusters of yellow flowers, 

 produced in winter or early spring, a native 

 of Japan, B. Japonica is probably a variety of 

 the same species. They are of comparatively 

 recent introduction (1845) and are so distinct 

 from everything else that one or the other of 

 the varieties should be found in every collec- 

 tion of choice shrubs. They require a slight 

 protection in winter in the Northern States. 

 By some this genus is placed under Berberis. 



Maiden Hair Fern. See Adiantum. 



Maiden Hairtree. See Salisburia. 



Maiden Pink. Dianthus deltoides. 



Maize. See Zea. 



Malabai'la. Named after Count Malabaila von 

 Canal, once director of the Botanic Gardens 

 at Prague. Nat. Ord. UmbellifercB. 



A genus of hardy perennial, often glabrous 

 herbs, similar in habit to Peucedanum, but 

 with broader leaves ; natives of eastern 

 Africa, western Asia and south-eastern 

 Europe. M. Opoponax (Syn. Pastinaca Opo- 

 ponax) is sometimes cultivated as a decora- 

 tive plant for the sub-tropical garden. It 

 grows about six feet in height and is easily 

 increased by seeds sown in the open ground 

 in spring. 



Malabar-Leaf. A common name for Cinnamo- 

 mum Malabathrum. 



Malabar Nightshade. See Basella. 



Malacoca'rpus. From malakos, soft, and kar- 

 pos, a fruit ; alluding to the juicy fruits. Nat. 

 Ord. Cactacece. 



This genus, now included by Bentham and 

 Hooker under Echinocactus, is composed of 

 the smooth-fruited species of that genus. 



Malacoid. Having a mucilaginous texture. 



Mala'xis. From malaxis, tenderness ; in allu- 

 sion to the nature of the species. Nat. Ord. 

 OrchidacecB. 



A genus of curious and interesting terres- 

 trial Orchids, growing naturally in spongy 

 boggy places. They are mainly of botanical 

 interest. 



Malay, or Rose Apple. A name applied to the 

 fruit of Eugenia Jambos, and some other 

 species of Eugenia. 



Malco'lmia. Named after W. Malcolm, a cele- 

 brated London nurseryman. Nat. Ord. Cruci- 

 ferm. 



A genus of hardy plants, mostly annuals, 

 chiefly natives of the south of Europe, pro- 

 ducing white or purple flowers disposed in 

 racemes. Most of the species are but little 

 grown. M. maritima is the well-known Vir- 

 ginian Stock of our gardens. They all grow 

 from seed sown in spring. 



