BOTANICAL, INDEX. 
II 
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ME DIN I LLA ERYTHROPHYLLA. Gandichaud. 
N the October (1878) number of the Index 
we gave an illustration of Clidemia Vit- 
,ata -> (Fig. 64, p. 103), a newly introduced 
5^3$? species of Melastomacecv. ; and now pre- 
“Ws-cjw ceding this article we give an illustra- 
tion (Fig. 82) of a typical form of a second 
®*-fp2S genus of Melastomaceoe, the JSIedinilla 
^ Erythrophylla, one of our choicest green- 
house shrubs. According to the “Treasury of Botany,” there are one hundred and 
sixty-five genera, and about two thousand species, in the Order JSIelastomace.ee, ; and of 
all this number not one is unwholesome, while many species produce an edible fruit 
of great value to the indolent natives of the tropics. The same authority also informs 
us that there are nearly three dozen described species of JSIedinilla, all of which are 
from the Islands of the Indian Ocean. Sir Joseph Paxton, however, gives only six 
species, in the “ Botanical Dictionary,” (edition of 1868), all of which produce rose- 
colored or shaded rose-colored flowers. In their native habitat they never grow more 
than three or four feet high, consequently are admirably adapted for house culture. 
The plant has a fine, dense habit of growth; and the leaves, always growing in pairs, 
are quite large, with prominent ribs and veins, giving the plant a very ornamental 
appearance in summer, when not in bloom. The curious flowers are freely produced 
in clusters during fall and winter, not only from the axils of the leaves, but from the 
old wood at the leaf-scars along the sides of the trunk and branches of the shrubs 
that are often three or four years old. It is the custom of some gardeners to start all 
plants and shrubs growing in the spring, whether they have had any rest or not. 
This mode of treatment causes the Medinilla to bloom a little all through the summer 
season, to the detriment of its winter blooming. 
At Fig. 82, a, we give a figure of a flower fully matured, and of natural size. The 
flowers of this species are of the softest rose-color, and remain a long time in perfec- 
tion. At first the petals stand erect, partly closed, but gradually they spread out, 
forming a star-shaped flower; then they recurve back around the rose-colored calyx 
and pedicel, and remain there until they wither. In the “Treasury of Botany ” we 
read: “ The principal characters of the genus reside in the limb of the calyx, being 
entire, or atmost obsoletely lobed, (5 divisions), and in the stamens, of which there are 
eight or ten, (double the number of the floral envelopes), having basal-fixed generally 
incurved anthers, with two lobes or spurs at the bottom in front, and one behind.” 
