mont] 



STtje EreaSurp of HSotaug. 



754 



MONTE-AU-CIEL. (Fr.) Polygonum ori- 

 entate. 



MONTEZUMA. A Mexican sterculiaceous 

 tree, said to be very handsome, but only- 

 known by descriptions made from Mocino 

 and Sesse's Mexican drawings. It appears 

 to form a distinct genus of the tribe Bom- 

 bacece. 



MONTIA. A minute aquatic belonging 

 to the order Portulacacece. The whole plant, 

 which rarely exceeds five or six inches in 

 length, is succulent, and furnished with 

 opposite spathulate leaves, in the axils of 

 which, near the summit of the stem, are a 

 few very small flowers, having five petals 

 united into a tube which is split on one side. 

 M.fontana, Water Blinks, or Water Chick- 

 weed, is common on the banks of streams, 

 especially on a gravelly soil, and has, like 

 many other aquatic plants, a wide geogra- 

 phical range. [C. A. J.] 



MONTINIA. A genus of onagrads, dis- 

 tinguished by having stamens and pistils 

 on separate plants, the flowers of each hav- 

 ing the border of the calyx four-toothed; 

 the corolla in four divisions ; the style 

 two-cleft at the apex ; and the seed-vessel 

 two-valved, two-celled, and crowned by the 

 teeth of the calyx. M. acris, the only spe- 

 cies, is a Cape shrub, with acute fleshy and 

 alternate leaves. It was named in honour 

 of Montin, a Swedish botanist. [G. D.] 



MOOCHERUS. A gum-resin obtained 

 in India from Bombax malabaricum. 



MOOJANEE. An Indian name for Pha- 

 seolus trilobus 



MOON-FLOWER. Chrysanthemum se- 

 getum ; also Ipomcea bona-nox. 



MOONG. Indian varieties of Gram. 

 MOON-PENNY. Chrysanthemum Leucan- 

 themwm. 



MOON-SEED. Menispermum. 



MOONWORT. Bumex Lunaria; also 

 Botrychium Lunaria. 



MOONYAH. An Indian name for the 

 fibre of Arundo Karka. 



MOOQL. An Arab name for Gum Bdel- 

 lium. . 



MOORBALLS. The common name of 

 Conferva wgagropila, an Alga which forms 

 compact sponge-like balls at the bottom of 

 freshwater lakes. The whole plant con- 

 sists of a mass of branched articulated 

 green threads constricted at the joints 

 somewhat resembling the hair balls found 

 in the stomachs of ruminants. The moor- 

 balls exhibit the normal growth of a par- 

 ticular Alga, but similar substances are 

 found occasionally on the sea-coast, which 

 derive their origin from the action of the 

 waves, exactly as masses of human hair are 

 sometimes rolled by the waves into com- 

 pact rounded masses. Moorballs are some- 

 times used as pen-wipers. [M. J. B.] 



MOOR-BERRY. Oxy coccus palustris. 



MOORCROFTIA. A little-known genus 

 of Convolvidacew, containing two species, 

 from Penang. They are twining under- 

 shrubs, with opposite petiolate leaves, and 

 axillary peduncles bearing several flowers ; 

 the calyx consists of five sepals; the co- 

 rolla, which has been seen only in the un- 

 opened flower, is then densely hairy ; the 

 berry is one-celled, very rarely two-celled, 

 and one-seeded. [W. C.j 



MOORWORT. Andromeda polifolia. 



MOOSE-WOOD. Dirca: 



MOOSKDANA An Indian name for 

 Abelmoschus moschatus. 



MOOTCHIE-WOOD. A light soft Indian 

 wood, the produce of Erythrina indica. 



MOOTHA. An Indian name for Cyperus 

 rotundus or hexastachyus. 



MOOTHE, or METHA. Indian names for 

 Fenugreek seed. 



MOPHA. Bassia latifolia. 



MOQTTILEA. A genus of Chrysobalana- 

 cece, now limited to two or three tropical 

 American trees, distinguished from Coue- 

 pia by their short campanulate calyx ; 

 and from Chrysobalanus by the stamens 

 Inserted all round the ovary, by the race- 

 mose inflorescence, and probably also by 

 the fruit, which is, however, insufficiently 

 known. Several species with a tubular base 

 to the calyx, referred to Moquilea by some 

 botanists, belong to Couepia. 



MOQUINIA. A genus of Compositw, of 

 the tribe Mutisiece, differing from Gachna- 

 tia chiefly in its dioecious flower-heads. It 

 consists of three or four Brazilian shrubs, 

 the underside of whose leaves is white 

 cottony, and whose inflorescence consists 

 of small racemose or paniculate flower- 

 heads. 



MOR. The Malay name for Myrrh. 



MORACELE. (Sycoidece, Morads.) A natu- 

 ral order of monochlamydeous dicotyle- 

 dons, belonging to Lindley's urtical alli- 

 ance of diclinous Exogens. By many bo- 

 tanists it is considered a suborder of Arto- 

 carpacem. Trees or shrubs with a milky 

 juice ; leaves commonly rough and lobed ; 

 flowers small unisexual, collected in heads 

 spikes or catkins. The calyx of the male 

 flowers is either wanting, or three to 

 four-parted, with three to four stamens, 

 opposite its segments, the anthers open- 

 ing lengthwise. The female flowers have 

 three four or sometimes five sepals, and a 

 one-celled ovary, with solitary pendulous 

 ovules. Fruit a succulent sorosis or syco- 

 uus. Natives of temperate and tropical 

 climates. The plants abound in milky juice 

 yielding caoutchouc; their fruit is often 

 bland and nutritious, while their bark 

 yields fibres. The mulberries, Morusnigra 

 and alba, belong to the order ; as does Ficus 

 Carica the common fig, Sycomorus anti- 

 quorum the Sycomore fig, and Broussone- 

 tia papyrifera the paper mulberry. Vari- 

 ous species of Ficus and Urostigma supply 



