corolla, and four stamens, -with the rudi- 

 - meat of a fifth. The fruit and uses of 

 ! these plants, both natives of Brazil, are 

 : unknown. [B. SJ 



MANTELET DES DAMES. (3?r.) Air 



■ chemilla. 



MANTISIA. A genus of Zingiberacece, 

 deriving its name from the resemblance 

 of the flowers to the insect Mantis. It is 

 nearly allied to Globba, but is distinguished 

 from it by the lateral inner segments of the 

 corolla being narrow and linear, and ad- 

 herent to the filament of the stamen above 

 tbe labellum ; the anther, moreover, is di- 

 lated on each side into a membranous wing. 

 One of the species has long been grown in 

 hothouses in this country, from the singu- 

 ; larity and beauty of its flowers, which- 



Mantisia saltatoria. 

 present some resemblance to a ballet- 

 dancer : hence the popular name, Dancing 

 Girls, applied to the plant. The filament 

 and anther with its wing-like margins, re- 

 present the head and neck of the lady, the 

 long inner segments of the corolla repre- 

 sent the arms, while the labellum corre- 

 sponds to the dress. The flowers are purple 

 and yellow. The name, Mantisia sanatoria, 

 expresses the resemblance Loih to an in- 

 sect and to a dancer. [M. T. M.] 



MANTTLEA. A genus of Scroph ulariacece, 

 of the tribe Gratiolece, distinguished by a 

 five-cleft calyx with narrow lobes ; by a 

 corolla with a slender straight tube, and a 

 spreading limb nearly equally divided into 

 five lobes which are often notched or cleft ; 

 and by didynamous stamens enclosed in 

 the tube, with one-celled anthers. There 

 are nearly thirty species, natives of South- 

 ern Africa, all herbs or rarely low under- 

 shrubs, with the leaves usually radical 

 on the lower part of the stem only. The 

 flowers are terminal in racemes, or more 

 frequently clustered in narrow irregularly 

 compound panicles. They are usually yel- 

 low, orange, or red, small, but sometimes 

 very numerous. 



MANYROOT. A West Indian name for 

 the emetic Ruellia tuberosa. 



MAOOSA. The fibre of a species of TJr- 

 tiea used in Ceylon. 



MAPLE. Acer. — , BIRD'S-EYE. Acer 

 saecliurinum. —.ITALIAN. Acer Opnlus. — , 

 NORWAY. Acer platanoicles. —, SUGAR. 

 Acer saccharinum. — , SWAMP. Acer ru- 

 brum. 



MAPPA. A genus of Euphorbiacece, of 

 the tribe Crotonece, consisting of trees with 

 large usually peltate leaves, and small 

 flowers in axillary or lateral panicles. The 

 calyx is small without petals; the male 

 flowers in clusters with three to ten sta- 

 mens bearing small globular four-lobed 

 anthers ; the females solitary, usually with 

 a two-celled ovary, growing into a capsule 

 usually bearing soft prickles or subulate 

 processes. There are several species in the 

 tropical regions of Asia and Eastern Africa. 

 Among them M. Tanaria is said to yield a 

 good tan in the Indian Archipelago. 



MAPROPNEA. A genus of Euphorbia- 

 cece, of the tribe Crotonece, consisting of 

 trees with small glabrous alternate ovate 

 entire leaves, and small flowers, the males 

 growing in little oval cone-like heads, at the 

 base of which are some long-stalked female 

 ones. There are only two speeies known, 

 both from tropical America. 



MAQTTL (Er.) Aristotelia. 



MARA. A Guiana wood furnished by 

 Idea altissima. 



MARACAUBA. A Brazilian furniture 

 wood, intermediate in appearance between 

 mahogany and tulip-wood. 



MARAM or MARRAM. Ammophila are- 

 naria. 



MARANTACEiE. (Cannacece.) A natural 

 order of epigynous monocotyledons, be- 

 longing to Lindley's amomal alliance of 

 '■ Endogens. Herbaceous plants, with tuber- 

 : ous rhizomes, and leaves and flowers simi- 

 I lar to those of the ginger family. Perianth 

 I superior, in two whorls : the outer (calyx) 

 J three-lobed short, the inner ^corolla) tubu- 

 i lar elongated three-parted, the segments 

 1 nearly equal ; stamens in two whorls : the 

 ! outer sterile petaloid irregular, resembling 

 I a tubular trifld corolla with one of the 

 i lateral segments different, the inner pe- 

 taloid, two being sterile, and one lateral 

 fertile, the filament of the latter petaloid ; 

 anther on the margin of the filament, one- 

 celled; ovary three-celled, rarely one-cell- 

 ed, the ovules solitary and erect, or nu- 

 merous and attached to the axis ; style 

 petaloid ; stigma either the naked apex 

 of the style, or hollow hooded and in- 

 curved. Fruit a three-celled capsule, or 

 baccate one-celled and one-seeded ; seeds 

 round, without arillus ; embryo straight, 

 in hard albumen. They are natives of 

 tropical America and Africa; several are 

 found in India ; none are known in a wild 

 state beyond the tropics. The plants con- 

 tain much starch in the rhizomes and 

 roots, but are destitute of aroma. Arrow- 

 root is the produce of the tuberous rhi- 

 zomes of Maranta ; while Cauna coccinea, 



