MELO 



Kl}t €rra£urg at Matmy. 



734 



where it grows in great quantities, cover- 

 ing large tracts of barren soils. The 

 plants are usually globose when young, but 

 ultimately increase more in length than 

 in diameter, seldom, however, growing 

 much more than a foot and a half high, 

 with from twelve to twenty ridges. Not- 

 withstanding the arid places in which they 

 grow, they contain a considerable quantity 

 of moisture, and the mules, being aware of 

 this fact, resort to them when hard pressed 

 for water, carefully removing the prickles 

 with their fore feet previous to quenching 

 their thirst in the juice. [A. S.] 



MELOCHIA. A genus of Sterculiacece, 

 of the triheHennannice, distinguished from 

 Hermannia and Maliemia by the ovules, 

 which are only two in each cell of the 

 ovary, and by the straight seeds and em- 

 bryo ; and from Waltheria by the cells of the 

 ovary being always Ave. There are about 

 fifty species, dispersed oA r er the tropical re- 

 gions of the globe, the majority herbs or 

 undershrubs, clothed with more or less of a 

 stellate tomentum often intermixed with 

 simple hairs. The leaves are alternate, 

 toothed, narrow ovate or cordate; the flow- 

 ers small, in axillary panicles, in terminal 

 compound spikes, or in loose cymes or pa- 

 nicles. Some species are, however, shrubby, 

 or even grow into small trees. The genus 

 Is sometimes restricted to a small number 

 of herbs with very angular pyramidal cap- 

 sules ; and the majority of species with 

 globular capsules are separated under the 

 name of Eiedlea; and a few of the taller 

 shrubby ones with winged seeds take the 

 name of Visenia. Several of the species 

 are common tropical weeds. 



MELODINUS. A genus of Apocynaceaz, 

 containing about a dozen species of woody- 

 stemmed climbing shrubs with milky juice, 

 natives of Silhet, Hong-Kong, the islands 

 of the Indian Archipelago, New Caledonia, 

 and Norfolk Island. They have opposite 

 entire leaves, and white sweet-smelling 

 flowers disposed in short terminal cymes. 

 The five-parted calyx is destitute of glands, 

 and the corolla has a cylindrical tube and 

 five oblique or sickle-shaped spreading 

 lobes, the mouth of the tube being furnish- 

 ed with a coronet composed of five or ten 

 small erect scales sometimes united to- 

 gether. The fruit is a large globular or 

 egg-shaped fleshy berry containing nume- 

 rous seeds lying in pulp. 



M. monogynus is a tall woody climber, 

 found in the forests of Northern and East- 

 ern India, bearing round or somewhat four- 

 cornered smooth deep yellow fruits about 

 the size and appearance of small oranges, 

 and containing numerous seeds imbedded 

 in a firm sweet-tasted pulp, which the 

 natives eat. [A. S.] 



MELON. Cucumis Mela. — , MTTSK. Cu- 

 cumis Melo. — , QUEEN ANNE'S POCKET. 

 Cucumis Dudaim. —, WATER. Citrullus 

 vulgaris. 



MELON D'EAU. (Pr.) Citrullus vulgaris. 



M^LONGENE. (Fr.) Solanum esculentum. 



MELONIDIUM. An inferior fleshy 

 many-celled fruit ; such as an Apple. 



MELON-SHAPED, MELONIFORM. Ir- 

 regularly spherical, with projecting ribs ; 

 as the stem of Melocactus communis. 



MELON-THICK. A "West Indian name 

 for Melocactus communis. 



MELON-WOOD. A yellow Mexican wood, 

 which resembles Sander's wood, used for 

 furniture. 



MELOPEPO. CucurUta Melopepo. 



MELTJB. The fragrant kernels of Cera- 

 sus Mahaleb, which are strung as necklaces, 

 and valued by the women of Scinde. 



MEMBRANOUS, MEMBRANACEOUS. 

 Thin and semi-transparent, like a fine mem- 

 brane ; as the leaves of mosses. 



MEMECTLON. This genus was formerly 

 regarded as typical of a natural order to 

 which the name Memecyleas was given, but 

 it is now placed in MeXastomacea. It con- 

 tains upwards of fifty species, all of which 

 inhabit the tropical regions of the Old 

 World, and are small trees or shrubs with 

 entire thickish leaves having a prominent 

 midrib and pinnate often scarcely percep- 

 tible veins, their small bluish flowers 

 being borne in clusters upon the sides of 

 the branches. M. capitellatum (alias M. 

 tinctorium) is a small tree of Ceylon and 

 the Carnatic, where its leaves, which turn 

 yellow in drying, are used for dyeing, but 

 the colour obtained from them is fugitive. 

 Those of M. umbellatum are used by the 

 Cingalese for mixing with the wood of 

 Morincla citrifolia and Sappan wood {Ccesal- 

 pinia), for producing a permanent red dye ; 

 while the ripe berries of M. edule are eat- 

 able, but rather astringent. [A. S.] 



MEMNONIUS. A brown black colour; 

 pitch black. 



MENAIS. A genus of Ehretiacece, found 

 in South America, forming a shrub with a 

 woolly stem, alternate ovate entire rough 

 leaves, and flowers with a three-parted per- 

 sistent calyx, a salver-shaped five-parted 

 corolla with a flat limb, five sessile anthers, 

 and a globose four-celled berry with one 

 seed in each cell. [J. T. S.] 



MENDEE. An Indian name for Henna. 



MENDO. 

 America. 



wild Sweet Potato of North 



MENIOCUS. A few annual weeds be- 

 longing to the Crucifene, found in South 

 Europe and West Asia, have been asso- 

 ciated under this name, but are now placed 

 in the large genus Alyssum. They are 

 much branched herbs, with linear leaves 

 clothed with white starry hairs, and small 

 white flowers disposed in racemes at the 

 ends of the twigs. Each of the six stamens 

 — four of which are long, and two short — 

 has a small scale in front, and the ellip- 

 tical compressed silicules contain numer- 

 ous immarginate seeds. [A. A. BJ 



