554 MIR 
■when rubbed together with quicklime, emitting an alka¬ 
line odour; and, when fprinkled with nitric acid, an 
odour like burnt fulphur. Found in the neighbourhood 
of volcanos, in fome lakes in Tufcany, at the bottom of 
a burning well in Dauphiny, and on the furface of the 
earth near Turin. It is generally found mixed with ful¬ 
phur, alumine, alum, or vitriol; and hence its colour is 
leldom white, but of a grey, yellowifh grey, or lemon- 
colour : it is alfo found in a ftaladfitical form, or inveft- 
ing lavas, or in an earthy Hate with little or no luftre : its 
cryllals are generally frnall fix-fided prifms whofe planes 
are unequal, terminated by lix-fided pyramids : it is folu- 
ble in twice its weight of cold water, and flowly attradls 
moifture when expofed to the air: when heated, it firft de¬ 
crepitates, then melts, and in clofe veffels fublimes. Con¬ 
tains acid 54‘66, ammonia i4’24, water 3i‘io, according 
to Kirwan. 
MIRAB'ILI AFFI'NIS, in botany. See Basella. 
MIRABIL'IARY, f [from the Lat. mirabilis, won¬ 
derful.] A book of wonders. 
MIRAB'ILIS,/! [a name which originated with the 
Spaniards, who applied to the beautiful plant, which ftill 
bears this name, the appellation of Marabillas del Peru , 
the Wonder, or Marvel, of Peru, on account of the great 
diverfity of colour in its flowers, even on the fame root. 
At firft, as profefior Martyn obferves, every thing that 
came from the new continent was thought wonderful. 
The French call the plant of which we are fpeaking belle 
tie nuit, becaufe the flowers expand, and fmell fweet, at 
night only. Tournefort called this genus Jalapa, which 
is founded in error; and Juflieu Nyilago, derived from 
the French idea.] In botany, a genus of the qlafs pentan- 
dria, order monogynia, natural order nyftagines of Juf- 
fleu. Generic charafters—Calyx : perianthium outer 
©ne-leafed, ereft-ventricofe ; inferior, five-parted ; feg- 
ments ovate-lanceolate, (harp, unequal, permanent; in¬ 
ner globular, placed under the petal, with a contracted 
entire mouth, and permanent. Corolla: one-petalled, 
funnel-form ; tube (lender, long, thicker at top, placed 
on the inner calyx; border from upright fpreading, en¬ 
tire, bluntly five-cleft, plaited. NeCtary fpherical, flefliy, 
furrounding the germ, with a five-toothed mouth ; teeth 
very fmall, triangular, converging. Stamina: filaments 
five, inlerted into the orifice of the neCfary, and alternate 
with its teeth, within the inner calyx free, more (lender, 
faftened at bottom to the tube of the corolla, filiform, the 
length of the corolla, inclining, unequal; antherae twin, 
xoundiffi, rifing. Piftillum : germ turbinate, within the 
neClary: ftyle filiform, the length and fituation of the fta- 
mens; ftigma globular, dotted, rifing. Pericardium: 
none; the inner calyx incrufts the feed, and falls with it. 
Seed: Angle, ovate-five-cornered. Some toothlets of the 
rieifary are commonly obfolete.— Effeutial Char ail er. Ca¬ 
lyx inferior; corolla funnel-form ; iuperior; neClary glo¬ 
bular, inclofing the germ. There are four fpecies. 
This genus is allied to the Amaranthi and Caryophyl- 
leae by its farinaceous feed; to the Dipfaceae in its habit 
and double calyx : it differs however in many marks, and 
it is difficult to alfign it a place. Hence Linnaeus left it 
among the plants of doubtful rank, in his Ordines Natu- 
rales. 
1. Mirabilis jalapa, or common marvel of Peru : flowers 
heaped, terminating, ereft. This is a perennial plant, 
and the roots in their native country acquire a great fize. 
There are feveral varieties in the colour of the flowers; 
as purple or red, white, yellow, variegated purple and 
white, and variegated purple and yellow. Thefe refolve 
themfelves into two principal varieties: a, purple-flower¬ 
ed ; and / 3 , yellow flowered. The firft of thefe has purple 
ami white flowers, which are variable; fome are plain 
purple, others plain white, but moft of them are varie¬ 
gated with the two colours, and all are found fometimes 
on the fame plant. The fecond has red and yellow flow¬ 
ers, generally mixed, but fometimes diftiiuff on the fame 
plant; fome plants have only plain yellow flowers, (as 
M I R 
fig. x on the annexed Plate,) others only variegated, and 
others again both plain and variegated ; but plants railed 
from the feeds of the purple and white never produce red 
and yellow flowers, nor the contrary. Thefe varieties are 
very ornamental plants in the flower-garden during the 
months of July, Auguft, and September; and, if the fea- 
fon lhould continue mild, they often laft till near the end 
of Oftober. The flowers do not open till towards the 
evening, whilft the weather continues warm ; but in mo¬ 
derate cool weather, when the fun is obfcured, they con¬ 
tinue open almoft the whole day. They are produced fo 
plentifully at the ends of the branches, that when they 
are expanded the plants feem entirely covered with them ; 
and fome being plain, others variegated on the fame plant, 
they make a fine appearance. It is a native both of the 
Eaft and Weft Indies, China, Cochin-china, and Africa, 
but was introduced into Europe firft from Peat. It was 
cultivated here by Gerard many years, as he fays, before 
the publication of his Herball in 1597. Parkinlon is very 
diftufe in his defcription of this plant in his “ Paradifus, 
or Garden of Pleafant Flowers,” publi(hed in 1629 ; and 
was well acquainted with its feveral varieties. Thunberg 
informs us, that the Japanefe ladies make a white paint 
from the meal of the feeds, for their complexions. 
2. Mirabilis dichotoma, or forked marvel of Peru: 
flowers feffile,axillary, ereft, folitary. This refembles the 
preceding very much. The (talks have thick fwollen 
joints: the leaves are fmaller ; the flowers are not much 
more than half the fize of the other, and do not vary in 
their colour from their natural purplilh red ; the fruit is 
very rough. It is a native of Mexico ; but is very com¬ 
mon in ail the iflands of the Weft Indies, where the inha¬ 
bitants call it the four -o' clock flower, from the flowers 
opening at that time of the day. 
Tournefort was informed by Plumier that the root of 
this plant is the oflicinal jalap ; but Dr. Houfton was fully 
informed of the contrary in the Spanilh Weft Indies, and 
brought over a drawing of the plant made by a Spaniard 
at Halapa or Xalapa, and carried fome of the plants to Ja¬ 
maica, where they were deftroyed by hogs. He was how¬ 
ever fully fatisfied of its being a Convolvulus, as Mr. Ray 
had laid many years before, upon what authority it docs 
not at prefent appear. Mr. Miller, a few years after, (viz. 
in 1736,) received three feeds of the jalap from the Spanilh 
Weft Indies, one of which grew, and became a large plant, 
having a bulbous (tuberous) root, as large as that of 
the jalap commonly imported, but the plant produced 
no flowers in the three years it lived ; the fevere winter 
of 1739-40 killed it. The roots of marvel of Peru are in¬ 
deed purgative, like jalap, given in a double do(e; but it is 
now generally fuppoled that the true jalap is a fpecies of 
Convolvulus. Loureiro however affirms that M. jalapa 
produces the true jalap. See Convolvulus jalapa, vol. v. 
p. 156. and we rnuft now inform the reader, that the figure 
there given, by our predeceflors in this department, (hould 
have been referved for the prefent fpecies. 
3. Mirabilis longiflora, or fweet-lcented marvel of Peru : 
flowers heaped, very long, fomevvhat nodding, terminat¬ 
ing; leaves fubvillofe. The (talks of this fort fall on the 
ground, if they are not fupported ; they grow about three 
feet in length, and divide into feveral branches; they are 
hairy and clammy. The flowers come out at the ends of 
the branches, are white, have very long (lender tubes, and 
a faint mulky odour; as in the other fpecies, they are (hut 
during the day, and expand as the fun declines. The 
feeds are larger than thole of the other fpeGies, and are as 
rough as thole of the fecond. 
Native of Mexico. Cultivated in 1759 by Mr. Miller; 
who fays, that the feeds were firft fent him from Paris by 
Dr. Monnier, and afterwards from Madrid by Dr. Ortega. 
It flowers, as the common fort does, from June to Sep¬ 
tember. 
4. Mirabilis vifcofa, or clammy marvel of Peru: flowers 
racemed; leaves cordate, orbiculate-acute, tomentofe. 
Stems thick, round, fwelling at the joints, with oppofite 
branches® 
