MER 



259 



MES 



it-izm, any foul or noxious ex- 

 halation generally applied to 

 that caused by carbonic acid gas. 



merenchyma, n., mer^ng'-klm-d 

 (Gr. meris, a part, a particle ; 

 engckuma, what is poured in 

 from en, in ; chetima, tissue : 

 perhaps Gr. memo, I wind or 

 twine round), in bot., cellular 

 tissue composed of more or less 

 rounded cells. 



mericarp, n., mer'-i*kdrp (Gr. 

 meris, a part ; karpos, fruit), in 

 bot., the half of the fruit of an 

 umbelliferous plant, like the 

 hemlock. 



merismatic, a., trier'-is-mat'-ik (Gr. 

 merismos, division from meris, 

 a part), in bot., taking place by 

 division or separation, as into 

 cells or segments. 



merispore, n., mer^i'spor (Gr. 

 meris, a part ; spora, seed), in 

 bot., a cell capable of germination, 

 formed by the division of an 

 ascospore or a basidiospore. 



meristem, n., m&r'i'Stem (Gr. 

 meristos, separated, divisible 

 from merizo, I divide into parts), 

 in bot. t tissue formed of cells 

 which are all capable of dividing, 

 and producing new cells ; also 

 called ' generative tissue.' 



merithal, n., mer^i-thdl (Gr. meris, 

 a portion; thallos, a young shoot, 

 a bough), in bot., a term used for 

 * internode ' ; a term applied to 

 the different parts of the leaf : 

 merithalli, n. plu., m8r*i-lhal'3, 

 the three principal parts of a 

 plant the radicular merithal 

 corresponding to the root, the 

 cauline to the stem, and the 

 foliar to the leaf. 



Merostomata, n. plu., mer'-d-stom'- 

 at'd (Gr. meros, the upper part 

 of the thigh ; stoma, a mouth), 

 an Ord. of Crustacea in which 

 the appendages placed round 

 the mouth, and performing the 

 office of jaws, have their free 

 extremities developed into walk- 

 ing or prehensile organs. 



Mertensia, n., mer-tens'-i-d (after 

 Mertens, a professor of medicine 

 at Bremen), a highly esteemed 

 genus of plants producing brilliant 

 flowers, Ord. Boraginaceee : Mer- 

 tensia maritima, mdr-itf-im-d (L. 

 maritimus, belonging to the sea 

 from mar$, the sea), a species 

 having the taste of oysters, hence 

 called in Scotland the oyster 

 plant. 



Merulius, n., mer-dol't-us (origin 

 unknown: said to be a corruption 

 of metullus, the original name 

 from L. meta, anything of a con- 

 ical or pyramidal form, so named 

 from its shape), a genus of fungi, 

 one of whose species causes the 

 dry rot in wood: merulius lacry- 

 mans, Idk^ri^mdnz (L. lacrymans, 

 weeping, lamenting), the most 

 destructive of the parasitical 

 fungi, producing what is called 

 the dry rot, and a pest to wood 

 and wooden structures, sometimes 

 penetrating thick walls and 

 destroying the mortar and 

 lath. 



MesembryacesB, n., m$s>em'-bri-d' 

 se-e (Gr. mesembrm, mid-day), 

 the Ficoidese or Fig-marigolds, 

 and Ice-plant family, an Ord. of 

 plants, natives of hot sandy plains: 

 MesembryesB, n. plu., mes'-em- 

 brl f -&e, a Sub-order having numer- 

 ous conspicuous petals : Mesem- 

 bryanthemum, n., mes-Zm'-bri- 

 dnth'em'Um (Gr. cwitliemon, a 

 flower), a genus of beautiful and 

 well-known succulents : Meseni- 

 bryanthenmm edule, $d-ul'-$ (L. 

 edulis, eatable), the Hottentot- 

 fig, whose leaves are used as an 

 article of diet : M. crystallinum, 

 krist-dl f 'lin>um (L. crystdlllnus, 

 crystalline from crystallum, a 

 crystal), the Ice-plant, remark- 

 able for the watery vesicles which 

 cover its surface, and which have 

 the appearance of particles of ice: 

 M. tripolium, tri-potti-tim (of or 

 from Tripoli in Africa), has the 

 property of expanding in a star- 



