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POPULAR GARDEN BOTANY. 



MYRTUS. (Myrtle.) 



Gen. Char. (Icosandria Monogynia.) Calyx five-cleft ; petals 

 five ; stamens many ; style one ; berry two or three-celled, many- 

 seeded. 



The name is derived from the Greek for perfume. The 

 well-known Myrtus communis is often introduced into the 

 greenhouse, although it is half-hardy, for the sake of its 

 evergreen leaves ; some species will only flourish in the 

 stove, but the following may be introduced into a cooler 

 atmosphere : — M. bullata is a New Zealand species, which 

 becomes a shrub of some height : the leaves are curiously 

 swollen between the veins, whence the specific name, as they 

 look as if blistered, they are purplish underneath ; the flow- 

 ers are large, the calyx purple, the petals concave, ciliated, 

 white, deeply tinged with red on the outer side, stamens 

 very numerous, rising from a ring in the centre ; this spe- 

 cies is quite worthy of a place in a collection of plants, from 

 the beauty of the flowers and the fragrance of the foliage 

 when bruised. M. tenuifolia and tomentosa are also good 

 species. 



