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74 



M. orbiculata is one of the species placed 

 by some botanists in the genus Jossinia, 

 on account of the calyx and corolla having 

 four parts instead of five, but the distinc- 

 tion does not hold good, and they are con- 

 sequently referred to Myrtus. It is a large 

 shrub, with thick dark green leathery ellip- 

 tical or nearly round leaves, and an abund- 

 ance of yellowish-white fragrant flowers, 

 with small petals and numerous conspicu- 

 ous stamens. In theMauritiusandadjacent 

 islands, where this and the allied species 

 are natives, their wood, on account of its 

 hardness, is called Bois de Clous, or Bois 

 de Nefle (Medlar wood). The fruits are 

 eatable. [A. S.] 



MYSORE-THORN. Ccesalpinia sepiaria. 



MYSTROPETALIISLE, MYSTROPETA- 

 LON. An order and genus of monoecious 

 root-parasites allied to Balanophoraceee. 

 The genus is considered by Dr. Hooker as 

 thetype of a distinct natural order. It has 

 a sheathing stem, covered by imbricated 

 scales, and terminated by dense heads of 

 flowers which present three villous bracts. 

 The male flowers at the top of the spike are 

 one to three-valved, the sepals united at 

 base, the two extrorse stamens inserted on 

 the petals and opposite to them. The fe- 

 male flowers have a superior tubular three- 

 toothed perianth, and a one-celled ovary 

 on a disk, with pendulous ovule, filiform 

 style, and three-lobed stigma. The fruit is 

 a rounded achene. The two known species 

 are natives of South Africa. [J. H. B.] 



MYXA. The same as Cordia, from which 

 some authors have separated it. 



MYXOGASTRES. A natural order of 

 gasteromycetous Fungi, characterised by 

 their semigelatinous state when young, and 

 by their thin brittle peridia, containing a 

 mass of dust-like spores, with or without 

 the admixture of a few threads. In con- 

 sequence of their peculiar condition when 

 forming their spores, it is often impossible 

 to see their mode of attachment or origin ; 

 when this, however, has been possible, they 

 have been found attached to threads either 

 naked or contained in a distinct hyaline 

 sac or ascus. Some doubts have been lately 

 raised as to the title of these productions 

 to a place in the vegetable kingdom, be- 

 cause the matter of which they are com- 

 posed resembles a substance called sarcode, 

 known only in animals, and because the 

 spores in some instances, when germinat- 

 ing, pro'duce a soft body resembling some 

 Infusoria. Another peculiarity is that the 

 peridium often contains carbonate of lime, 

 a substance, however, which abounds in 

 many Alga. There are, however, so many 

 arguments in favour of their vegetable 

 character, and especially the fact that they 

 do not all germinate in the same way, that 

 there is a true filamentous mycelium in Ly- 

 cogala terrestre, added to the spiral threads 

 in TricMa, that the mere circumstance of 

 motion in the young state, or peculiarity 

 of substance, is not sufficient to overthrow 

 it. The occurrence of starch in animals, 

 or the infusorioid character of the spores 



in many Algce, might as well be taken as 

 proofs that animals which contain starch 

 in their tissues are vegetables, or that the 

 Algce which bear zoospores are animals. 

 Indeed doubts have been raised, on the 

 other hand, whether the infusoria contain- 

 ing sarcode should not be arranged with 

 vegetables, though we do not subscribe to 

 such hasty opinions. 



Myxogastrous Fungi seem more than all 

 others to be independent of the nature of 

 the matrix on which they are produced. 

 We have seen them growing on lead, and 

 there are well-authenticated examples of 

 their being produced on iron which a few 

 hours before was red-hot. Indeed we pos- 

 sess a portion of such a specimen from the 

 herbarium of Schweinitz. Most of them 

 are microscopical, but JSthalium, which is 

 the pest of hothouses, attains a consider- 

 able size, while both Reticularia and Licea 

 afford specimens of similar habits. Few 

 orders, however, of Fungi present so many 

 elegant objects for the microscope, both 

 in respect of form and colour. They are 

 found in all parts of the world, but prefer 

 temperate to hot climates ; but neither ex- 

 treme heat nor moisture is favourable to 

 their growth, though they require a damp 

 atmosphere. [M. J. BJ 



M YZO DENDRON. A genus of Lorantha- 

 cece, found growing parasitic upon the 

 beeches of Tierra del Fuego and Antarctic 

 America, to as far north as Valdivia, and 

 characterised by its almost membranous 

 one-seeded fruits being furnished with 

 three long generally feathery bristles. 

 These bristles are of a viscid nature, and 

 serve the same purpose as the glutinous 

 matter of our well-known mistleto berries, 

 viz. that of attaching the fruit to a tree 

 until the seed germinates and takes root 

 in the bark. They also serve to effect the 

 transport of the fruits from the parent 

 plant to other trees by attaching them to 

 the plumage of birds. [A. S.] 



NABEE. The Bish or Bikh, a powerful 

 Indian poison obtained from Aconitum 

 ferox. 



NABK. The berries of Zizyphus Lotus. 



N^EGELIA. A genus of Oesneracece, of 

 which the type is the well-known Gesnera 

 zebrina. It consists of perennial herbs 

 with catkin-like scaly stolones, broad rich- 

 ly-shaded velvety-surfaced leaves, and erect 

 racemes of large showy flowers, the ample 

 campanulate cylindrical tube of which is 

 somewhat ventricose beneath, and has a 

 short and slightly two-lipped limb. The 

 flowers are furnished with a flve-lobed 

 glandular ring, and a stomatomorphous 

 stigma. N. cinnabarina, like N. zebrina, has 

 scarlet blossoms, andi there are many gar- 

 den varieties remarkable- for the pile of 

 richly-coloured hairs which clothe the sur- 

 face of their leaves. [T. M.J 



NAGEESA. A strong durable Indian 

 timber, obtained from Mesuaferrea. 



KAGEIA. A genus formerly proposed 

 by Gtertner for the Myrica Nagi of Thun- 



