menispe'rmum. 



180 



mesembrya'nthemum. 



native of the Cape of Good Hope. It 

 should be grown in light rich soil, if 

 it be wanted to attain a large size ; or 

 in sand, mixed with a little loam and 

 lime rubbish, if it be wanted to flower 

 while yet of a small 6ize. It looks 

 very well trained against a south wall. 



Meli'ssa. — Labiatce. — The Balm. 

 None of the species are particularly 

 ornamental, but they are worth grow- 

 ing for the fragrance of their leaves. 

 They are all hardy perennials, which 

 will grow in any soil or situation, and 

 which are propagated by dividing the 

 roots. 



Meloca'ctus. — CactacecB The 



Melon Thistle. All these plants have 

 a sort of crown of cottony substance, 

 which sometimes grows to an enor- 

 mous size. The flowers are generally 

 red, and are produced around this 

 crown. They are natives of the hot- 

 test part of the tropics, and should 

 be kept in a dry stove in England. 

 They should be grown in a little sandy 

 loam, mixed with two-thirds of lime 

 rubbish ; and the pots in which they 

 grow must be well drained with cin- 

 ders, as they are very liable to damp 

 off or rot, if any stagnant water be 

 suffered to remain about the roots. 

 They are very much improved by 

 plunging the pots in which they grow 

 into tan, and thus affording the plants 

 bottom heat. 



Melon Thistle. See Meloca'ctus. 



Menispe'rmum. — Menispermh- 

 ceae. — Handsome climbing shrubs, 

 natives of Europe and North America, 

 ■with curiously-shaped leaves, racemes 

 of yellowish or greenish white flowers, 

 and red or black berries, which have 

 somewhat of an intoxicating quality. 

 M. canadense, which is the com- 

 monest species, is a hardy free-growing 

 climber, admirably adapted for cover- 

 ing a wall or arbour in a very short 

 time, and in a very ornamental man- 

 ner. It i9 well deserving of general 

 cultivation, and yet it is comparatively 



little known ; perhaps on account of 

 the modest colour of its elegant 

 little drooping racemes of flowers, 

 which are generally hidden from 

 common observers by the leaves. Its- 

 English name of Moonseed is derived 

 from the shape of the seed, which 

 resembles a crescent or half-moon. 

 It will grow in any soil or situation ; 

 and it looks very well on a lawn 

 trained up a single pole, and with 

 the extremity of its branches left to 

 spread themselves to the wind at 

 pleasure. It also looks very well 

 trained to form a pillar, or to a frame 

 with an umbrella top, &c. 



Menya'nthes. — Gentianece. The 

 Buck-bean. The European kinds 

 have white flowers, but some of the 

 exotic species, now called Villarsia, 

 which are natives of Australia and 

 the Cape, are very handsome, with 

 very showy yellow flowers. They 

 are all marsh plants, and should be 

 sown or planted in the mud or soft 

 ground left by the water. Some of 

 the kinds are only half-hardy. 



Menzi'esia. — Ericacece. — Little 

 heath-like plants, formerly included 

 in the genus Erica, natives of Europe 

 and North America. The common- 

 est kind, (M. polifoUa) St. Da- 

 boec's heath, is found wild in Ireland. 

 The flowers are larger and more glo- 

 bular than those of the common 

 heaths, and much handsomer. They 

 are quite hardy, and only require to 

 be grown in sandy peat, or heath - 

 mould. 



Meadow Saffron. — See Colchicum. 



Mesembrya'nthemum. — Ficoida- 

 cece. — The name of Mesembryanthe- 

 mum is derived from mesembria, 

 mid-day, and anthos, a flower ; and 

 this name admirably expresses the 

 habit of the plants, their flowers only 

 expanding in the brightest sunshine. 

 The English name of Fig Marigold 

 alludes to the fruit, which is shaped 

 like a fig, and which is eaten by the 



