53 



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slit along its upper edge, its limit divided 

 into five nearly regular segments: hence 

 the name of the genus, implying uni- 

 formity, as irregular flowers are most com- 

 mon in this order. J/. Speculum is a pretty 

 little plant with blue flowers. [M. T. M.] 



MONOPTEROFS. Having one wing. 



MONOPYRENOFS. Containing one 

 stone. 



MONOS. A Spanish name for 2Ielicocca 

 bijuga. 



MONOSEPALOUS. Having tin 



?pals 

 all united into one body by their edges. 



MONOSTICHOFS. Arranged in one row. 



MONOTAXIS. A genus of EuphorMacece 



of the tribe Crotonece, allied in structure to 

 Jatropha, but very different in appearance. 

 It consists of two or three small Austra- 

 lian shrubs or undershrubs with narrow 

 almost heath-like leaves, and small flowers 

 in little terminal or axillary cymes, the 

 central flower usually female, the others 

 males. The latter have small white petals, 

 the females have none. 



MONOTOCA. A genus of Epacridacem, 

 having a five-lobed calyx with two bracts 

 at the base, a funnel-shaped corolla with 

 five smooth lobes, stamens shorter than 

 the corolla, and a lobed cup-shaped disk. 

 The seed-vessel is a nearly globose berry 

 containing a single seed. They are small 

 trees or shrubs, natives of New South 

 "Wales and Tasmania, and have oblong or 

 lanceolate striated entire leaves, gene- 

 rally grey on the under side, and small 

 white often dioecious flowers borne on 

 axillary or terminal spikes. [R. HJ 



3IONOTROPACE.E. (Fir-rapes.) A na- 

 tural order of corollifloral dicotyledons be- 

 longing to Lindley's erical alliance of hy- 

 pogyuous Exogens. Parasitic plants of a 

 brown colour, allied to Pyrolacece, but 

 differing in the scaly stems, in the longi- 

 tudinal dehiscence of their anthers, and 

 in their minute embryo being at the apex 

 of the albumen. They are considered by 

 many as a suborder of Ericacece, from which 

 their habit, their antherine dehiscence, 

 loose testa, and minute embryo separate 

 them. Chiefly parasitic on firs in Europe, 

 Asia, and North America. The six genera 

 comprise about ten species. [J. H. B.] 



MONOTROPA. The typical genus of 

 Moaotropacece, distinguished by the cover- 

 ing of the flower being single and deeply [ 

 five-deft; and the stamens ten, emitting 

 their pollen by transverse opening? near ■ 

 the middle of the anther. The species are I 

 parasitical on the roots of trees. [G. D.] 



MOKS02JIA. A genus of Geraniacece ' 

 from the Cape of Good Hope, distinguished 

 by having five equal sepals, five equal 

 petals, and fifteen stamens disposed in five 

 bandies or all united. The genus is di- 

 vided into three sections. Odontopdalum, j 

 consisting of herbs, with alternate lobed j 

 or multifld leaves, and one-flowered pe- ! 

 duucles with an involucre in the middle of 



each ; petals oblong, toothed at the apex; 

 stamens in five bundles. Holopetabun, 

 herbs with alternate oval toothed leaves, 

 and one-flowered peduncles with two or 

 two-flowered with four bracts ; petals ob- 

 ovate crenulate ; stamens in five bundles. , 

 Sarcocaulon, plants with shrubby fleshy J 

 spiny stems, alternate entire or toothed 

 leaves, one-flowered peduncles with two 

 bracts in the middle ; petals entire ; sta- 

 mens monadelphous. M. spinosa or Bur- 

 manni, which belongs to the last section, 

 has a stem which burns like a torch, and 

 emits an agreeable odour. [J. T. S.] 



j MONSTERA. A curious genus of tropi- 

 cal American herbs belonging to the Ara- 

 cece. They are climbing plants, with stalked 

 leaves, the stalks invested at the base by 

 a sheath, the blades entire or perforated 



- with holes, and ultimately divided at the 

 margin. The leaf-buds are placed at some 

 distance above the axils of the leaves. The 



j spnthe is deciduous, the spadix sessile, 



I with female flowers below, hermaphrodite 

 ones above ; stamens of the upper flowers 

 with flattened filaments, and two-celled 

 anthers, opening by a short lateral slit; 

 ovary two-celled, each cell with two in- 

 verted ovules; style short, conical. The 

 fruits are succulent, fused together, and 

 ultimately casting off their outer skin ; 

 and the seeds are compressed, imbedded 

 in pulp. 



M. Adansonii, more generally known by 

 the old name of Dracontium pertusum, is 

 frequently cultivated in hothouses for the 

 singularity of its leaves, which appear as 

 if holes had been cut through them at irre- 

 gular intervals. The plant is reputed to 

 possess caustic properties. M. Trecul, who 

 has examined the mode of formation of 

 the holes in the leaves, says that they are 

 the result of changes that take place in the 

 tissue of the leaf whereby ultimately the 

 outer skin or epidermis becomes torn, and 

 a hole is produced, the size of which de- 

 pends on the age of the leaf at the time of 

 its formation, and that they have nothing 

 to do with the imperfect development of 

 lobes as might at first sight be supposed. 

 M. deliciosa, a Mexican species, has a suc- 

 culent fruit, with a luscious pine apple 

 flavour. [M. T. M.J 



MONSTROSITY. Any unusual kind of 

 development, or absence of development. 



MONTAGNITES. A genus of Fungi bear- 

 ing affinities on the one side to Agaricus, 

 and on the other to the higher Gasteromy- 

 cetes, from which it differs in having regu- 

 lar gills. There is a universal veil continu- 

 ous with the cuticle of the pileus, which 

 as it bursts exposes a large portion of the 

 dry gills, much in the same way as the gills 

 on a smaller scale are exposed in Agaricus 

 pusillus. The genus occurs in the south of 

 Europe, in North Africa, in the steppes of 

 Asia, and in Texas. [M. J. B.] 



MONT-ETNA. (Fr.) Tulipa turcica. 



MONT-JOLI DE CAYENNE. (Fr.) Lan- 

 tanainvolucraia. 



3 C 



