i <o 



£fjc €rta£urp af 33otan». 



[myrt 



occasionally to be seen in European green- ( 

 houses, are said to be mixed with barley 

 by the Abyssinians as food for their asses 

 and mules. 

 MYRSIPHYLLUM. A genus of Liliacece 

 '■ from the Cape of Good Hope, consisting of j 

 branched twining plants, with ovate-Ian- 

 eeolate or lanceolate leaves obliquely heart- j 

 shaped at the base, and white flowers on | 

 i nodding pedicels two or three together at 

 \ the base of the leaves, from the axils of 

 small white scales, which are in fact the | 

 true leaves, the organs generally so called i 

 being metamorphosed branches as in As- j 

 paragus. The perianth is persistent, bell- 1 

 shaped, six-parted, and there are six sta- ! 

 mens with subulate filaments. The berry | 

 is globose, three-celled. [J. T. S.] 



MYRTACEJE. (Myrti, Granatece, Myrtle- 

 blooms.) A natural order of calycifloral di- \ 

 cotyledons belonging to Lindley's myrtal | 

 alliance of epigynous Exogens. Trees or 

 shrubs with entire exstipulate usually ! 

 opposite and dotted leaves, often having 

 an intramarginal vein. Calyx limb some- 

 times cohering at the apex : petals attached ; 

 to the calyx, alternating with its segments; 

 stamens inserted with the petals, twice as 

 many or indefinite, the filaments distinct, j 

 or united in one or more parcels ; ovary j 

 adherent to the tube of the calyx, one to I 

 six-celled ; style and stigma simple. Fruit j 

 dry or fleshy, dehiscent or indehiscent. j 

 Tuey are natives chiefly of warm countries, 

 as South America and the East Indies; 

 many, however, are found in more tem- 

 perate regions, and some of the genera are 

 peculiar to Australia. Many yield an aro- 

 matic volatile oil. This is particularly the 

 case with those having pellucid dots in 

 their leaves. Some yield edible fruits ; j 

 others furnish astringent and saccharine 

 substances. The leaves of certain species 

 of Leptospermum and Melaleuca are used as | 

 tea in Australia. The leaves of Melaleuca \ 

 minor (Cajuputi of some), a native of the , 

 Moluccas, yield the volatile oil of cajeput. 

 Pimento or allspice is the berried fruit of 

 Eugenia Pimento,, a tree of the West Indies j 

 and Mexico. The flower-buds of Caryo- j 

 phyllus aromaticus, a tree which was origi- 

 nally a native of the Moluccas, but is now 

 cultivated in the East and "West Indies, j 

 constitute the cloves of commerce. The 

 species of Eucalyptus are the gigantic gum- 

 trees of Australia, some of which attain a 

 height of two hundred feet. Guavas are 

 produced by species of Psidium. Punica 

 Granatum yields the pomegranate. There 

 are about 100 genera and 1,500 species. An 

 illustration of a myrtaceous tree is given 

 in Plate 7. [J. H. B.J 



MTRTE. (Fr.) Myrtus. 



MTRTILLE. (Fr.) Yactinium Myrtillus. 



MYRTLE. Myrtus communis. — , CAN- 

 DLEBERRY. Myrica cerif era. — , DUTCH. 

 Myrica ; also a broad-leaved variefy of 

 Myrtus communis. — , JEWS. A three- 

 leaved variety of Myrtus communis. — , 

 OTAHEITE. Securinega. —, ROMAN. A 



common broad-leaved variety of Myrtus 

 communis. — , SAND. An American name 

 for Leiophyllum. — , TASMANIAN. Fagus 

 Cunninghami. — , WAX. Myrica cerif era. 

 —, WEST INDIAN. Eugenia. 



MYRTLE BLOOMS. Lindley's name for 

 the Myrtacece. 



MYRTUS. The typical genus of Myrta- 

 cece, the species of which are widely scat- 

 tered, the greater number, however, being 

 found in the mountains of tropical South 

 America, extending into the temperate 

 parts oE Chili, and even as far south as 

 the Falkland Islands ; others occur in Cen- 

 tral Asia and New Zealand, while about a 

 dozen species, which some botanists dis- 

 tinguish as a separate genus under the 

 name Jossinia, are confined to the Mauri- 

 tius, Bourbon, and the neighbouring is- 

 lands. They vary greatly in stature. M. 

 Nummularia, a native of the Falkland Is- 

 lands, spreads over the ground like our 

 European thyme,wbile the Common Myrtle 

 generally forms a large bush, and others 

 are small trees. Their leaves are opposite, 

 entire, and marked with transparent dots ; 

 and their white or yellowish-white flowers 

 are borne singly in the axils of the leaves. 

 The genus is principally distinguished from 

 its congeners by its seeds, which are con- 

 tained in a globular two or three-celled 

 fruit, crowned with the calyx lobes, few or 

 many in each cell, and of a kidney or horse- 

 shoe shape with a bony shell. 



M. communis, the Common Myrtle, is well 

 known by its shining evergreen leaves, 

 and white sweet-scented flowers. Though 

 extremely abundant in Italy, Southern 

 France, Spain, &c, it is not indigenous to 

 Europe, but only naturalised, having ori- 

 ginally been brought from Western Asia, 

 where, at the present day, it is found in a 

 wild state as far east as Affghanistan. In 

 England it is not sufficiently hardy to with- 

 stand the frost of very severe winters, 

 except in the extreme southern parts, al- 

 though it frequently survives long enough 

 to attain its full growth. Several varieties 

 exist, differing principally in the size and 

 form of the leaves, in the shape and colour 

 of the fruits, and in the flowers being sin- 

 gle or double. Amongst the ancients the 

 Myrtle was held sacred to Venus, and was 

 a plant of considerable importance, wreaths 

 of it being worn by the Athenian magis- 

 trates, by the victors in the Olympic games, 

 and by others ; besides which various parts 

 were used in medicine, in cookery, and by 

 the Tuscans in the preparation of myrtle 

 wine, called Myrtidanum, for which pur- 

 pose it is still employed. In modern times 

 its chief use is in perfumery, particularly 

 in the preparation of sachet powders, pot- 

 pourris, &c. ; and a highly perfumed astrin- 

 gent water, known as Eau d'ange, is dis- 

 tilled from its flowers. The fruits, which 

 have a sweetish powerfully aromatic taste, 

 are eaten in a fresh state, or dried and used 

 as a condiment. The wood is of great hard- 

 ness and beautifully mottled or veined, but 

 from its small size it is only fit for turnery 

 purposes. 



