Mandr agora 



(50) 



Manihot 



MANDRAGORA. (MANDRAKE) 



A small genus (ord. Solanacese), to whose mem- 

 bers much of legendary interest is attached, al- 

 though from the cultivator's point of view they are 

 valueless. The roots of the Mandrake have been 

 credited with various sinister qualities, and were 

 declared at one time to shriek when being pulled 

 out of the ground. Superstition has not yet wholly 

 died out, for even now, slices of the curiously forked 

 roots are occasionally sold in the streets of London 

 as a specific for various ills, and a rich harvest is 

 reaped from the credulous. 



Mandragoras may be propagated either by seeds 

 or by root division, and grow in any deep, fairly 

 light soil, in partial shade. 



Principal Species : 



autumnalis, G" to 12", 

 Sep., lidy. per., pale 

 pur. Said to be the 

 Mandrake of Scripture. 



officinarum. Devil's Ap- 

 ples, 1', My., hdy. per., 

 wh. or bl. (tyns. officui- 

 alis and vernalis). 



MANETTI (< ROSES.) 



MANETTIA ($yns. BELLAEDIA, Coxo- 

 TBICHIA, LYGISTUM, etc.). 



Stove, evergreen, herbaceous or shrubby climbers 

 (ord. Ru'oiacea;), with highly coloured, showy 

 flowers, allied to Bouvardia. Some of the species 

 make elegant pillar plants, and they do well if 

 trained to balloons and spheres of wire or wood. 

 Luteo-rubra (bicolor) is the one most frequently 

 met with. Cuttings of the young shoots root 

 readily in spring, in sandy soil in heat, and if 

 putted on into a mixture of peat and loam in 

 equal parts, with one-eighth sand, they soon, make 

 good plants. Relatively small pots only are 

 required, as they flower best when slightly pot- 

 bound. 



Principal Species : 



bicolor (see luteo-rubra) . 

 cordifolia, Aug., Nov.,st., 



sc., very showy (syn. 



micans) . 



luteo-rubra, Feb., Je , 

 St., sc., yel. (sijn. bi- 

 color). If planted in a 

 border it will flower the 

 whole year round. 



MANGIFERA. (THE MANGO.) 

 Stove, evergreen trees (ord. Anacardiaceie), 

 which do not enter to any extent into decorative 

 gardening, but one species, indica, is of great 

 importance economically. It is cultivated exten- 

 sively in the Old World tropics for the sake of its 

 fruit. Occasionally plants in this country ripen 

 their fruit, but so far the Mango Tree is only a 

 novelty here. Cuttings of ripened shoots may be 

 rooted in sand in strong bottom heat, but grafting 

 is usually resorted to for the better varieties. 

 Soil, two parts of good loam and one part of sandy 

 peat. 



Principal Species : 



indica, 60,' Jy., wh., fruits kidney shaped, yel., 

 red, speckled blk. ; many vars. Mango Tree. > 



MANICARIA. 



Tropical American stove Palms (ord. Palmse), 

 of robust habit, rare in cultivation. They may be 



Mandrake (see Mandragora). 

 Manglesia (tee (frmillea). 

 Mangostana (see Garclnia). 

 Mnnf/rateen (see Garcinia Mangostana). 

 Mangrove (see Rhizopliora). 



propagated by imported seeds, which should be 

 sown in strong bottom heat, with plenty of moist- 

 ure. A good, sandy loam suits the plants well. 

 Saccifera, the only species of note, has leaves which 

 are often 30' long and 5' or 6' wide : it is distinct 

 from all other Palms in that the leaves are entire. 

 It grows 15' to 20' in height and has a prominently 

 ringed trunk. 



MANIHOT. 



Tall herbs and evergreen shrubs {ord. Euphorb- 

 iacea;), of economic value only. From palmata 

 Aipi and utilissima, Cassava or Mandiocca meal is 

 obtained, and this is made into bread. The roots of 

 palmata Aipi are wholesome and are used as a vege- 



MAKDEVILLA SUAVEOLENS (see p. 40). 



table by the natives, but utilissima is very poisonous. 

 The expression of the juice and the cooking of the 

 Cassava meal, however, gets rid of the poison. The 

 Tapioca of commerce is also furnished by utilissima, 

 which is cultivated to a considerable extent in the 

 American tropics on this account. In this country 

 the plants are grown only as curiosities. Cuttings 

 of ripened shoots may be rooted towards the end of 

 the summer in sandy peat in a close frame with 

 bottom heat. Peat and loam in equal parts, with 

 one-eighth of the whole sand, make a suitable 

 compost. 



Principal Species : 

 Aipi (< palmata var.). 

 palmata. The species is 



overshadowed by its 



var. Aipi, the Sweet 



Cassava. 



Other Species : 



curthaginensis, Jy., grh. 



utilissima, 3', Jy., st. 

 yel. Bitter Cassava 

 (sun, Jatropha Maniliot 



of Jiutilttirtll Milil'l-ilif 



3071). 



(!/. Jatropha eartha- 

 ginensis). 



