713 



Wfyz CrcaSurw of 23otang. 



MALV 



springing from the axils of the lowermost 

 leaves, and producing small roundish or 

 egg-shaped one-seeded fruits. Two Guate- 

 mala species, 21. gracilis and 21. simplex, are 

 cultivated in our hothouses. [A. SJ 



MALPIGHIACE.E. (Xitrariacece, Malpi- 

 I ghiads.) A natural order of dicotyledonous 

 ' plants belonging to Lindley's sapindal alli- 

 I ance of hypogynous Exogens. Trees or 

 shrubs, sometimes climbing, M r ith simple 

 opposite or very rarely alternate stipulate 

 leaves, without dots ; hairs, when present, 

 peltate. Flowers either perfect or uni- 

 sexual; sepals five, slightly united, per- 

 sistent, often glandular at the base ; assti- 

 vation imbricated; petals five, unguiculate, 

 with convolute aestivation; stamens usual- 

 | ly ten, often monadelphous, the anthers 

 roundish, with a projecting process from 

 the connective ; ovary formed by three 

 ! i rarely two or four) carpels, more or less 

 I combined ; ovules solitary, with a long 

 I pendulous cord ; styles three, distinct or 

 ' united. Fruit dry or fleshy, sometimes 

 ' winged; seeds solitary, orthotropal, sus- 

 [ , pended, exalbuminous ; embryo straight or 

 ; curved in various ways ; cotyledons folia- 

 ceous or thickish. They are inhabitants 

 ! of tropical countries chiefly, and a great 

 I number of them are found in South Ame- 

 rica. Malpighia, Banisteria, Hiptage, Hircea, 

 I and Gaudichaudui, offer examples of the 

 ! forty-five genera, which contain nearly 

 | 600 species. [J. H. B.] 



MALPIGHIA. A genus of tropical Ame- 

 rican shrubs, with opposite leaves, either 

 [ entire or slightly toothed, not infrequently 

 j having peltate, and sometimes stinging 

 ' hairs. The flowers are of a reddish-yellow 

 | or white colour, usually grouped in axillary 

 i . or terminal tufts, the stalks themselves 

 : jointed and bracteate. The calyx is five- 

 i. cleft, some of the segments having two 

 j glands at their base ; petals five, longer 

 j ! than the sepals, stalked ; stamens ten, all 

 I ; fertile, united into a tube at the base ; 

 'j ovary three-celled, each cell with a single 

 i pendulous ovule ; styles three, distinct. 

 M Fruit fleshy, with three crested stones. 

 1 ! The genus derives its name from Malpighi, 

 i I a celebrated Italian anatomist, one of the 

 i [ first to employ the microscope in physio- 

 I [ logical researches. He was Professor of 

 j i Medicine at Bologna in the latter part of 

 the seventeenth century. The order Mal- 

 jrighiacecB takes its name from this genus. 

 The fruits of 21. glabra and 21. urens are 

 eaten in the "West Indies, those of the 

 latter being called Barbados Cherry. Some 

 | of them are of twining habit, and the 

 singularity of their flowers renders them 

 desirable in our hothouses. [M. T. M.] 



MALT. Barley which has been steeped 

 in water so as to excite germination, and 

 then kiln-dried. 



MALVACE.E. (Mallowworts.) A natural 

 orderof dicotyledons belongingto Lindley's 

 malval alliance of hypogynous Exogens. 

 Herbaceous plants, trees, or shrubs, with 

 alternate stipulate leaves more or less di- 

 vided, and often with stellate hairs. Sepals 



five, rarely three or four, more or less co- 

 hering at the base, with a valvate aestiva- 

 tion, often bearing an external calyx | 

 (epicalyx) or involucre; petals equal in 

 number to the sepals, with twisted aestiva- 

 tion, stamens indefinite, hypogynous, all 

 perfect, their filaments monadelphous or 

 polyadelphous, and the anthers monothe- 

 cal, reniform, with transverse dehiscence ; 

 ovary formed by the union of several car- 

 pels round a common axis, either distinct 

 or cohering ; styles as many as the carpels, 

 united or free. Fruit capsular or baccate ; 

 carpels one or many-seeded, sometimes 

 closely united, at other times separate or 

 separable, their dehiscence loculicidal or 

 septicidal ; albumen none, or in very small 

 quantity; embryo curved; cotyledons 

 twisted or doubled. Found in tropical 

 countries and in the warm parts of temper- 

 ate regions. They are mucilaginous and de- 

 mulcent, and yield fibres. Althcea officinalis 

 (marsh mallow) yields mucilage. Gossiipium 

 furnishes various kinds of cotton. Hibiscus 

 cannabinus supplies Indian hemp. Pari 

 tium elatum gives Cuba bast. There are 

 nearly fifty genera, including Malva, Lava- 

 tera, Hibiscus, and Sida, and upwards of one 

 thousand species. [J. H. B.] 



MALVA. The typical genus of Malvacece, 

 embracing a large number of species widely 

 spread through the northern hemisphere, 

 being found in most European countries, 

 in Northern and Central Asia, and in North 

 America, while the few species belonging 

 to the southern hemisphere are confined 

 to South Africa. These numerous species 

 differ greatly in appearance, some being 

 small annual or perennial herbaceous 

 plants, others shrubs of variable height, 

 but they all agree in possessing tough 

 fibre, and an abundance of mucilage. Their 

 flowers, which are frequently very showy, 

 but of short duration, have an outer calyx 

 or involucre, consisting of three distinct 

 leaves attached to the lower part of the 

 true calyx, which is more or less deeply 

 cut into five broad lobes ; and the numer- 

 ous single-seeded carpels are disposed in a 

 circle round a central axis, but become de- 

 tached when ripe. 



11. moschata, the Musk Mallow, derives 

 its name from the peculiar musky odour 

 given off by all parts of the plant when 

 kept in a confined situation, particularly 

 in warm dry weather, but it is seldom 

 powerful enough to be smelt in the open 

 air. The plant is a perennial, and has 

 large rose-coloured flowers clustered to- 

 gether at the ends of the erect slightly 

 branched stems. It is found along hedges, 

 roadsides, and borders of fields in the Bri- 

 tish Isles. 21. rotundifolia is an annual, 

 with tough downy stems lying upon the 

 ground, and has roundish lobed leaves, and 

 small pale-bluish flowers clustered in their 

 axils. It is common in waste places in 

 most parts of Europe, including Britain, 

 and in Western Asia. In Egypt, especially 

 upon the banks of the Nile, it is exten- 

 sively cultivated, and used by the natives 

 as a pot-herb. 21. sylvestris, the Common 



