1008 



MESEMBRYANTHEMUM 



1\IESI'1LUS 



AA. Papulosa: Plant x.'^ifalli; hi'uruu/ glittering pn- 



j'itla;^ vesicles or project ions on sfeni.-^ a nit lr.-^.,~ 



hence the j^opular name Ice Plant (species 24- 3^1) . 



B. Hoot annual or biennial {cult, as annuals). 



0. Pis. ivlilte or rose-color, sessile or nearl)j so. 



24. crystallinum, Linn. Ice Plant. Fi^. 1.^90. A 



common plunt in \viiulo\v-;j;'ar(lcns ami hunting baskets, 



and readily grown from seeils (which are offered by 



seedsmen), procumbent: Ivs. tlat, fleshy, ovate or long- 



spatulate, nsuiiUy clasping, undulate, covered with 



glistening dots or elevations: fls. snniU, wdiitish or va- 



1396 Common Ice plant— Mesembryanthemum crystallinum 



( \) 



rying to light rose-color. S. Afr., Greece, Canary 

 I'slands, S. Calif. — Grown for its glistening foliage. 

 Fls. open in the sun. 



CO. Fls. jjeUoir, long-pednncled . 



1~). pomeridianum, Ijinn. Stem simple or forking, the 

 branches ascending, hair}' on branches, peduncles and 

 <;alices: Ivs. lance-spatulate or spatulate, narrowed into 

 a petiole, ciliate: 2 of the calyx lobes longer than the 

 petals; petals iinear-lauceolate. 



2fi. gl^bnim, Ait. Glnbrons ; Ivs. lance-spatnlate, 

 pftidate and dilated at base: Ms. straw-colored, darker 

 at the eye; lobes of the calyx linear and unequal. 



BB. Po«t '/icrenvinl and the stem t'ccomini; tiomcirhat 



ivoodij. 



c. Lvs. flat, petiolafc. 



27. cordiiolium, Linn. Stems 1-2 ft., diffuse, niinntely 

 papillose: lvs. opposite, 1 in. or less long and nearly as 

 wide, cordate-ovate, somewhat papillose: tls. solitary, 

 peduncled, purple, the petals short and linear. A var. 

 varieg'atum is in cult., and is a good half-hardy trailing 

 plant. 



uc. Lrs. conijyresscd-triquefroHs, nut pctiolate. 



2S. 61egans, Jacq. Shrubby, 6-12 in. or more tall, 

 branchy, wliitish or red: Ivs. crowded, i^..> in. long and 

 very narrow, very ghun-rius, scidirdus: tls. numerous, 

 mostly panicled, pale red (or whitish i, the petals }<-. in. 

 long. 



CCC. Lvs. terete or nenrtij so. 

 D. Branches hispid or hristtij. 



29. siibcompr6ssum, ITaw. Erert, 2 ft. : lvs. not 

 crowded, ^4 in- '-'i" 'ess \imii., narrnw, v(-ry blunt, green- 

 ish canescent, flatteiu'd-tf^^TPli- : tis. .sojitiiry, pur|disli : 

 calyx lobes unequal. 



."iO. noribundum, Haw. Tortuous in growth, the 

 branches not ovrr (i in. lon.i^, more or less decumbent: 

 Ivs. less than 1 in. h'Ug, very narrow, terete, curved, 

 obtuse, a little thicker towards the apex: fls. small, 

 axillary, rose-colnr. tlie f) styles (-xsert^d, the petals 

 twice lougcr than the ealyx. 



PD. Branches not hispid. 

 'M. barb^tum, Linn. A foot or moi'o tall, diffuse and 

 decumbent : h-s. not crowded, ^o iiL long, spreading, 

 gree?i und ])ellucid, S(!mi-cylindrical, with 5 or (1 hairs 

 at the end: lis. solitary, reddish, the petals entire and 

 ^-;i times longer than the calyx. 



.32, stell^tum, Mill. Three or 4 in. high, fleshy and 

 tufted: Ivs. crowded, ^ii in. long, glaucous, semi-cylin- 

 drical, scabrous, with many hairs at the apex: pedun- 

 cles hairy: Hs. reddish violet, the calyx campauulate, 

 % in. long. 



33. d^nsuin, Haw. Much like the last: lvs. longer, 

 tlattish al>ove and convex beneath, ciliato also at the 

 base: calyx longer: lis. reddish violet. R.H. ]8G9, p. 356. 

 Accessible pictures of Mesembryanthemiims which are not 

 mentioned in American lists, are as follows: M. Bolusii 

 Hook, f. B. M. 6604.— ikf. JirOwnit, Hook. f. B. M. 69«5.-iEf. 

 crlniflbruiii, Linn. R. H. 18.'37, p. 122 (as M. cuneifolium),— Jf, 

 flcifdrme, Haw. G. C. II. 25:373.— If. minvtum. Haw. R. H. 

 1869, p. 356.— J/, pvgioniforme, Linn. R. H. 1857, p. 178.— J/. 

 rbseuin, Willd. Gn. 52, p. 4.'i9.— Ji, testiculdtuni, Jacq. R. H. 

 1869, p. 35 {as M. octophyllum). L H B 



MESOSPIWfDIUM (Greek compound; meaning ob- 

 scure). Orchidiicea'. The plants cultivated as Mesospi- 

 nidium are referred by some to the genus Cochlioda. They 

 have the habit of a slender Odontoglossum, with sheath- 

 ing Ivs. at the base of the pseudobulbs. Fls. in racemes 

 or panicles; sepals and petals sub-similar, expanded; 

 labellum with 2 longitudinal ridges, adnate to the col- 

 umn, with rounded lateral lobes and a narrow middle 

 lobe: column long or short: pollinia2, seated onarhom- 

 boid pedicel. These plants are evergreen coolhouse 

 orchids, and thrive well in baskets of peat and moss, 

 with plenty of water. Cochlioda has about 5 species, of 

 "which the following is often cultivated: 



sangnineum, Reichb. f. Pseudobulbs oval, 2-lvd., 

 mottled: lvs. ligulate. sharp-pointed, shorter than the 

 many-fld. <lrooping panicle: fls. numerous, small, vivid 

 rose; the lower sepals are partially united, oblong; 

 petals cuneate-ovate. Peruvian Andes. B.M. 5627. 



M. vulcdnicum, Reiehb. f., is described as Cochlioda vulcan- 

 ica (p. 341), its proper name. HeiNKICH HaSSELBRJXG. 



M^SPILTJS (Gi'eek, substantive name). RosUcciv. 

 Mespil. Medlar. From Pyrus, with which this genus 

 is united by British authors, Mespilus differs in bear- 

 ing the flowers singly on leafy growths of the season 

 (the fruits, like the quince, having no true detachable 

 peduncles as pears and apples do), and in having the 

 top of the ovaries not covered by the over-growing 

 receptacle. There is but one species of true Mespilus, 

 but some authors (e. g., Focke, in Engler &, Prantl's 

 "Die Natiirlichen Pflan- 

 7.enfamilien ") include 

 some of the C'rata?gu3 

 species in the genus. 



The conini<ni IMedlar 

 is M6spilus Germanica, 

 Linn., native to Central 

 Eui'ope. To a consider- 

 able extent in parts of 

 Europe it is grown for 

 its acid fruits, but in this 

 countrj'' it is very little 

 known. It is perfectly 

 liardy in central N^/w 

 York, and its cultivation 

 requires no special ti-cat- 

 meut or skill. It nuikcs 

 a twiggy, tough-wooded 

 bush or small tree, 10 to 

 15 feet high, bearing 

 large whito blosscuns latt- 

 in May or early in Jun(^ 

 after the leaves are fiiU 

 size. The foliage is soft 

 and luxuriant ; leaves 

 lance-oblong or long-ob- 

 long, pubescent, simple, 

 sei-rate. The fruit (Fig. 

 Li97) remains hard and austere until mellowed by 

 frosts. With the freezing and the incipient decay, the 

 fruit becomes brown and soft. It is usually picked 

 after it is touched by frost and laid away on shelves 

 or in draw^ers in a cool, dry room; the ripening process 

 which follows is known as bletting. When finally soft- 

 ened, it is agreeable for eating from the hand, partic- 

 ularly for those who enjoy fruit-acids. It also makes 

 good preserves. 



1397. 

 Medlar— Mespilus Germanica. 



]N'atur;il si/.v. 



