maea] 



Qfyz Crca^urji ai 3t3atamn 



720 



C. Achiras, C. edulis, &c, yield Tous-les- 

 mois. There are nine genera, including 

 Carina, Maranta, and Phrynium, and up- 

 wards of 150 species. [J. H. BJ 



MARANTA. Maranti, after whom this 

 genus was named, was a Venetian botanist 

 and physician of the middle of the sixteenth 

 century. The genus, which gives its name 

 to the Marantacecp., consists of herbaceous 

 plants with fleshy tubers, and terminal 

 panicled jointed inflorescence with deci- 

 duous scale-like bracts. The flowers have 

 a calyx of three sepals ; a corolla of six 

 segments, the central one or lip of the 

 inner series larger than the lateral ones, 

 and cleft ; a petaloid stamen with half an 

 anther on one side of it, and a hooded style 

 adhering to a barren petal-like filament. 



The species are natives of tropical Ame- 

 rica, but are cultivated for the sake of the 

 starch in their tubers in both East and 

 West Indies, Sierra Leone, &c. M. Allouya, 

 M. nobilis, and especially M. arundinacca, 

 are cultivated in the West Indies, and, in 

 addition to the above-named species, M. 

 ramosissima is cultivated for like purposes 

 in the East Indies. The term Arrow-root 

 is said to be derived from the fact that the 

 native Indians used the roots of these 

 plants as an application to wounds inflicted 

 by poisoned arrows. The tubers whence 

 the Arrow-root is procured are whitish, 

 jointed, and horizontal, and give origin 

 to numerous offshoots, that are covered 

 with rudimentary leaves or scales; these 

 ultimately appear above ground and throw 

 up new stems. The starch is extracted 

 from the tubers, when these are ten or 

 twelve months old, by reducing them to a 

 pulp with water, straining, allowing the 

 fecula to subside, again washing it, and 

 ultimately allowing it to dry. 



Arrow-root is a very pure'kind of starch, 

 and is very nutritious. It is frequently 

 adulterated with other cheaper starches, 

 which fact may readily be detected by the 

 microscope. Other descriptions of Arrow- 

 root are furnished by plants belonging to 

 the following genera: Arum, Canna, Cur- 

 cuma, Jatroplia, Tacca— to which articles 

 the reader is referred for further informa- 

 tion. Mats used for shading in India are 

 frequently made of the split stems of M. 

 dicholoma. [M. T. M.l 



MARASCHINO. A liqueur prepared from 

 the Cherry. 



MARASMIUS. A genus separated from 

 Agaricus on account of the leathery texture 

 of the species, which revive' on the appli- 

 cation of water, and other less obvious 

 characters. Two distinct sections occur, 

 i:i the first of which the spawn is floccose, 

 and in the second resembles fibrous roots. 

 The former group contains the more fleshy 

 species, of which M. Oreades or Champi- 

 gnon is one of our very best esculent fungi, 

 while J/, scorodonius is an excellent condi- 

 ment. The latter comprises a multitude of 

 thin often splendidly coloured fungi, which 

 abound in tropical countries, and vie with 

 taeli other in elegance. M. hwmatocepha- 



lus has occurred in one of the stoves at 

 Kew, and if some of the more showy spe- 

 cies could be cultivated successfully, it 

 would be difficult to conceive anything 

 more attractive. Some of our own species, 

 though more modest in point of colouring, 

 are delightful objects ; and the little M. 

 Hudsoni, with its long tawny bristles ra- 

 diating in every direction from the pileus, 

 which is common on holly leaves, is aplant 

 of surprising beauty when closely exa- 

 mined. [M. J. B.] 



MARATTIACE2E, MARATTIA. An 

 order and genus of ferns, separated on the 

 one hand from Polypodiacece by the absence 

 of a jointed ring to the spore-case ; and on 

 the other from Ophioglossacece, which agree 



Marattia fraxinea. 



in having ringless spore-cases, by having 

 the sori dorsal, and the vernation circinate. 

 The order includes the genera Marattia, 

 Gymnotheca, Eupodium, and Angiopteris, 

 which have distinct oblong sori consisting 

 of free or concrete longitudinally bivalved 

 spore-cases ; Kaulfussia, which has distinct 

 circular sori made up of an annular series 

 of concrete spore-cases: and Dancea, in 

 which the sori are connate over the whole 

 dorsal surface of the fronds. 



Marattia differs from the other genera 

 of the order in having oblong sessile sori 

 made up of concrete spore-cases, and seated 

 on a fimbriate persistent involucre. It 

 consists of a few coarse-habited plants, 

 with large globose scaly rhizomes, and 

 ample twice orthrice pinnate fronds, with 

 fleshy stipes, and large oblong lance-shaped 

 pinnules, bearing the sori in lines near 

 their margins. They occur in South Ame- 

 rica, the Eastern and Pacific Islands, in 

 South Africa, the Mascaren Islands, and 

 the Island of Ascension. [T. M.] 



MARC. The cake or refuse after express- 

 ing the oil or juice from fruits or seeds, as 

 of apples, olives, grapes, &c. ; it is mostly 

 used for manure. 



MARCASSON. (Fr.) Lathyrus tuberosus. 



MARCEATJ. (Fr.) Salix Caprea. — , 

 PETIT. Salix aurita. 



MARCELLA. A Brazilian name for 

 Grangea maderaspatana. 



MARCESCENT, MARCID. Not falling 



