998 



MEDICAGO 



MEDINILLA 



pods slightly pubescent, with two or three spirals. Eu. 

 — Now widely cult., particularly iu dry regions, as a 

 hay and pasture, being to the West what red clover is 

 to the Northeast. See Alfalfa. A hardier and drought- 

 resisting race (known as var. Turkest^nica, Hort.) was 

 introduced from central Asia in 1H9S hy N. E. Hansen, 



1383. Medeola Vireiniana. the Indian Cucumber Root. 



(-<'■..) (Seep. 997.) 



under the auspices of the U. S. T>ej>t. Agric. (see Han- 

 sen, Amer. Agric. Feh.L'i, 1900; Circular 2.j, Division of 

 Agrostology, U. S. Dept. Agric.) . 



AA. FIs. yelhiiv. 



B. Plant annual and Jwrhaci^aas. 



lupuUna, Linn. Black or Hop Mtsdick. Nonesuch. 



r)iffuse, the branches often rooting ami becoming 2-.'> 



ft. long, deep-rooted, and dilHcult to |inll ni): plant gla- 



Medicago sativa— Alfalfa. 



(XK.) 



broils or slightly pubescent : Ifts. oval to orbicular, 

 tootlied: stipules broad and toothed: fls. small, light 

 yellow, in pedunculate heads : fr. nearly glabrous, 

 spiral, becoming black. Eu. — Extensively naturalized. 

 Has the appearance of 

 a clover. The yellow 

 clovers with which it 

 is likely to be con- 

 founded have larger 

 heads, which soon be- 

 come dry and papery, 

 and the stipules are en- 

 tire. It is sometimes 

 used as a forage or hay 

 plant, Of no ornamen- 

 tal value. 



prostrata,Jacq. Stem 

 prosti-ate: Ifts. linear, 

 dentate at the apex: 

 stipules linear- subu- 

 late: pod glabrous, spi- 

 rally contorted, 2- 

 seeded, black. S. Eu. 

 — Advertised as an or- 

 namental phmt. M.ele- 

 (/'ins, a name for a low, 

 yellow-tld. species, is 

 also in the trade; it 

 nuiy be any one of 4 or 

 5 species. 



scutellata, Mill. Snails. Erect or spreading, soft- 

 pubescent: Ifts. broadly obovate or the upper "ones 

 broadly oblong, prominently toothed: stipules falcate, 

 toothed at the ba^e: fls. small, solitary or nearly so; 

 pod large and prominently reticulated, }.3 in. across, 

 like a snail shell. Eu. — Grown for the odd snail-like 

 pods, which are used as surprises. See the article Cat- 

 er})iUars. 



EB. Plant peroivtal and u-ooihj, 

 arb6rea, Linn. Tree Alfalfa. Moon Trefoil. Two 

 to 8 ft. tall, with hard black wood: Ifts. oval to obovate, 

 light green, toothed at the top : stipules linear-acute, 

 entire; fls. orange-yellow, in rather loose, axillary, pe- 

 dunclod chistcrs: pod spiral, 2-3-seeded. S. Eu. L.B.C. 

 14:1379. — Offered as an ornamental plant in S. Calif. 



L. H. B. 

 MEDICK, See Mtd'tcago. 



MEDINlLLA (after Jose de Medinilla y Pineda, 

 governor of the Ladrones). Meh'istoni(}cea'. A genus of 

 08 species of tropical plants, mostly from the East 

 Indies and Pacific islands. 31. magnifica is one of the 

 most gorgeous tropical plants in cultivation, and one of 

 the most desirable for amateurs who have hothouses. 

 It is a native of the Philippines. It has handsome 

 broad, shining, leathery foliage and coral-red, 5-peta!ed 

 lis., each about 1 in. across, which are borne in pendu- 

 lous jiyramidal panicles sometimes a foot long, and 

 bearing 100-150 fls. The axis and branches of the pani- 

 cle are piiikish, and the same color tinges the large, 

 showy bracts, which are sometimes 4 in. long. Hooker 

 says: "Its most beautiful state is, ])erhaps, before the 

 full perfection of the lis.. Avhen the large imbricated 

 bracts begin to separate and allow the buds to be par- 

 tially seen. As the expansion of the blossoms advances, 

 the upper bracts fall off, but the lower ones remain and 

 become retlexed." This truly magnilicent plant flowers 

 <'0])i(iusly when only 2 or J ft. high, and a large well- 

 kr])t specimen in flower is a sight that is never to be 

 fiirgottrn. The numerous long, bent, jiurple anthers, 

 with tln-ir yellow filaments, fnrni an additional feature 

 i)t' interest. 



Medinilla is distinguished from allied genera (none 

 of which has garden value) rdiirtly by the curious aj)- 

 ])cndages of the stamens. The stamens are 8, 10 or 12, 

 the anterior connective, 2-lnl)ed or 2-spurred, the pos- 

 terior one usually setose or l-2dobed or 1-spurred. 

 Medinillas are branching shrubs, erect or climbing: Ivs. 

 mostly opposite or whorled. entire, fleshy: fls. wliite or 

 rose, with or without bracts, in panicles or cvnies, 

 Oogniaux in D(J. Mon. Phan. 7:r)72-G02 (1891). The 2 



