AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



241 



MAM 

 Mammoth Trees of California. See Sequoia. 



Manchineel Tree. The virulently poisonous 

 Hippomane Mancinella. 



Mandarin Orange. Citrus nobilis. 



Mandevi'lla. Named after H. J. Mandeville, an 

 English minister at Buenos Ayres, and a 

 botanical collector. Nat. Ord. Apocynacem. 



M. suaveolens, the only species yet intro- 

 duced, is a native of South America, and is a 

 desirable climber for the green-house, as it is 

 a rapid grower, and produces clusters of very 

 sweet-scented white flowers during the sum- 

 mer. It should be allowed to rest during 

 winter. It is propagated by cuttings of the 

 small, stiff side shoots, taken off close to the 

 old wood. Introduced in 1837. 



Mandio'cco. A synonym of Manihot, which 

 see. 



Mandrago'ra. Mandrake. From mandra, an 

 oxstall, and agauros, cruel; alluding to its 

 poisonous effects when accidentally given to 

 cattle with their fodder. Nat. Ord. Solanacece. 

 The species are natives of southern Europe 

 and the East, and have very short stems, with 

 a thick, fleshy, often forked root, from the 

 summit of which the entire ovate lance-shaped 

 leaves appear. The early writers attribute 

 the most wonderful and poisonous properties 

 to this plant ; it was both used to save and to 

 destroy life. Shakespeare alludes to it as fol- 

 lows : "Or have we eaten of the insane root 

 that takes the reason prisoner? " In the olden 

 time this root was said to be employed as an 

 anaesthetic, in the same way that chloroform 

 now is. While its poisonous properties are 

 yet acknowledged and dreaded, its medical 

 properties are no longer esteemed. 



Mandrake. See Podophyllum and Mandragora. 



Mane'ttia. In honor of Xavier Manetti, prefect 

 of the Botanic Garden at Florence, and au- 

 thor of " Regnum Vegetabile," 1756. Nat. 

 Ord. Rubiacece. 



An elegant family of green-house climbers, 

 suitable for training over a wire trellis at- 

 tached to the pots in which the plants grow. 

 The species delight in a moderately warm and 

 moist atmosphere when they are growing, 

 and in the case of having tuberous roots, like 

 M. cordifolia, are all the better for a decided 

 drying through the winter. The other species, 

 from having only fibrous roots, will not bear 

 a reduction to the same extent. M. bicolor 

 for winter-flowering should be grown freely 

 through the summer, and afterward be placed 

 in a dry, warm position to induce it to 

 flower freely, and to preserve its foliage from 

 mildew, to which it is very subject. The 

 flowers of this species are yellow and crimson ; 

 those of the others are scarlet, except M. Ly- 

 gistum, a native of Cuba, which has pink 

 blossoms. All the species do well here 

 planted out during summer, keeping up a 

 continuous bloom, and are propagated by 

 cuttings, either of the roots or shoots. In- 

 troduced from South America in 1806. 



Mangel Wurzel. Beta vulgaris macrorhiza. A 

 cultivated variety of Beet, largely grown as 

 food for cattle. 



Mangi'fera. Mango Tree. From mango, the 

 Hindoo name of the fruit, and/ero, to bear. 

 Nat. Ord. Anacardiacece. 



MAN 



M. Indica grows abundantly in India, where 

 numerous varieties are cultivated. It is also 

 grown in Brazil and the Mauritius for the 

 fruit, which is highly esteemed for its grateful 

 acidity and sweet perfume. In the tropics it 

 is the principal fruit eaten. The tree grows 

 about twenty feet high, and the fruit is pro- 

 duced in terminal clusters. 



Mangle'sia. Named after Captain Mangles, and 

 his brother, Robert Mangles, distinguished 

 patrons of botany. Nat. Ord. Proteacea. 



A genus of ornamental green-house shrubs 

 from Swan River, with very small flowers of 

 little beauty. It is grown only for its beauti- 

 ful foliage, and is now included under Grevilr 

 lea by some botanists. 



Mangosteen. See Garcinia. 

 Mango Tree. See Mangifera. 

 Mangrove. See Rhizophora. 



Manica'ria. From manica, a glove ; referring 

 to the spathe rolled around the inflorescence 

 or flower stem. Nat. Ord. Palmacece. 



A noble genus of Palms inhabiting the tidal 

 swamps of the Lower Amazon River. M. 

 saccifera, the only species yet introduced, has 

 immense leaves, unlike any others of the 

 order, which are more or less pinnated or fan- 

 shaped ; these, on the contrary, are entire, 

 frequently growing thirty feet long and from 

 three to four in width ; and being of a stiff 

 habit, stand erect upon the summit of the 

 stout, crooked stem, which usually attains 

 the height of fifteen or twenty feet. The In- 

 dians call the Palm Bussu, and its immense 

 leaves are invaluable to them for thatching 

 their huts. The fibrous spathes are also con- 

 verted into useful bags and caps by simply 

 cutting round them near the bottom, and 

 pulling them off entire, and afterward stretch- 

 ing them open as wide as possible without 

 tearing; they also supply a coarse, but strong 

 kind of cloth. On account of its immense 

 size this interesting species is rarely met in 

 collections. Propagated by seeds. 



Mani'hot. The Brazilian name of this genus. 

 Nat. Qrd. Euphorbiacew (Syn. Mandiocca). 



A genus comprising about eighty species of 

 tall herbs, or evergreen shrubs, mostly natives 

 of Brazil, a few being dispersed through the 

 warm regions as far as Mexico. M. Aipi, the 

 Sweet Cassava, deserves special notice as 

 being one of the recent additions to the food 

 plants of this country. It is closely related 

 to the Ricinus or Castor-oil Bean which it 

 resembles in general appearance. In the 

 southern portion of the United States and 

 more particularly in Florida, there are large 

 areas admirably adapted to the growth of this 

 plant as an article of home consumption, 

 while in time its manufacture into starch, 

 tapioca, and glucose, ought to become a lead- 

 ing industry. It has also created much inter- 

 est as food for stock being greatly relished by 

 cattle, horses, hogs, and poultry. The tubers 

 often three or four feet in length may be dug 

 at any season, only however, as wanted for 

 use, as they decay soon after being exposed to 

 the air. It is propagated from cuttings of 

 the larger stems, which before frost, are cut, 

 laid in piles and covered with earth. When 

 ready for planting in January, February, or 

 March, the stems are cut into pieces about six 



