&\)t Crcagurj) at Watany. 



712 



MALAXIS paludosa is a small delicate 

 terrestrial orchid, forming of itself a genus, 

 distinguished from Liparis by the propor- 

 tion of the petals, and by the pollen-masses, 

 which are club-shaped, in two pairs, both 

 suspended from a gland which terminates 

 the column. It grows to three or four 

 inches in height, the rootstock producing 

 a small solid bulb out of the ground, and 

 three or four ovate or oblong leaves. The 

 flowers are very small, of a greenish-yellow, 

 in a loose slender raceme. It grows in 

 spongy bogs in Northern Europe and Asia, 

 and is sparingly dispersed over a great part 

 of Britain. 



MALCOLMIA. A genus of herbaceous 

 plants, mostly annuals, belonging to the 

 cruciferous order, and distinguished by 

 having a roundish pod, and a simple pointed 

 stigma. The species are mostly natives of 

 the south of Europe, and agree in having 

 roughish toothed or sinuated leaves, and 

 purplish or white flowers disposed in ra- 

 cemes, and destitute of bracts. [C. A. J.] 



MALESHERBIACEiE. (Crowmvorts.) A 

 natural order of dicotyledonous plants, be- 

 longing to Lindley's violal alliance of hy- 

 pogynous Exogens. Herbs or half-shrubby 

 plants, with alternate exstipulate leaves, 

 and solitary yellow or blue flowers. Calyx 

 tubular, flve-lobed, inflated ; petals five, 

 convolute in asstivation, persistent, arising 

 outside a short membranous rim or coro- 

 net; stamens five to ten, perigynous, with 

 versatile anthers, the filaments often con- 

 nected with the stalk of the ovary ; ovary 

 superior, stalked, one-celled, with parietal 

 placentas ; ovules numerous, pendulous, 

 anatropal ; styles three, the stigmas club- 

 shaped ; fruit a one-celled three-valved 

 capsule ; albumen fleshy. These plants, 

 found in Chili and Peru, are allied to the 

 passion-flowers. The two genera, Malesher- 

 bia and Gynopleura, contain about half a 

 dozen species. [J. H. B.] 



MALESHERBIA. One of the two genera 

 of Malesherbiacece, and consisting of a 

 single species, a small pubescent shrub, 

 native of Peru, with long narrow deeply 

 sinuate-toothed leaves, and yellow sessile 

 flowers, solitary in the leaf-axils, but form- 

 ing a long raceme orthyrse. It is distin- 

 guished from its ally by its long cylindrical 

 tubular calyx, and by the corona at the 

 mouth of the calyx being deeply ten-lobed, 

 with truncate denticulate lobes. [A. S.] 



MALE SYSTEM. All that part of a flow- 

 er which belongs to the stamens. 



MALHERBE. (Fr.) Plumbago europcea ; 

 also Thapsia villosa. 



MALICORIUM. An old name for the 

 woody rind of the pomegranate fruit, used 

 medicinally. 



MALKUNGUNEE. An Indian name for 

 Celastrus paniculatus. 



MALLEA Rothii is the sole represent- 

 ative of a genus of Meliacem peculiar to 

 the East Indies. It is a shrub with ini- 

 i pari-pinnate leaves, axillary paniculate or 



racemose flowers, a cup-shaped five-toothed 

 calyx, five lanceolate petals, ten stamens, 

 and a fleshy drupe containing five stony 

 kernels. Uses unknown. [B. S.] 



MALLEE. The native name of Eucalyp- 

 tus dumosa, which forms the dreary Mai lee 

 scrub of South Australia. — of Victoria. 



Eucalyptus oleosa. 



MALLEOLUS. A layer; a shoot bent 

 into the ground and half divided at the 

 bend, whence it emits roots. 



MALLETTE. (Fr.) Cap sella Bursa-pas- 

 toris. 



MALLOW. Malva ; also Malvastrwm. — , 

 GLADE. Napcea. — , GLOBE. Sphceralcea. 

 — , INDIAN. Sida ; also Urena, and an 

 American name for Abutilon. — , JEW'S. 

 Corchorus olitorius, and C. capsularis. — , 

 MARSH. Althcea officinalis. — , TREE. 

 Lavatera arbor ea. — , VENICE. Hibiscus 

 Trionum. 



MALLOWWORTS. Lindley's name for 

 the Malvacece. 



MALOO CREEPER. An Indian name 

 for Bauhinia racemosa. 



MALOPE. A genus of herbaceous plants 

 belonging to the Malvaceae, and closely 

 allied to Malva, from which it may be dis- 

 tinguished by the broadly cordate leaflets 

 of the calyx. M. triflda is an annual from 

 North Africa, growing about two feet high, 

 bearing during the whole of summer large 

 deep rose-coloured or white flowers. M. 

 (trand iflora is taller and more robust, with 

 larger flowers. [C. A. J.] 



MALORTIEA. There are three species 

 of this genus of palms, all natives of Cen- 

 tral America. They have slenderreed-Jike 



Walortiea simplex. 



stems, long-stalked irregularly pinnate or 

 sometimes simple jagged leaves, and sim- 

 ply branched spikes of unisexual flowers 



