Mahernia
(an anagram of Hermannia, to which it is closely allied). ORD. Sterculiaceae. A genus comprising thirty-three species of very pretty greenhouse evergreen herbs or sub-shrubs, all natives of extra-tropical and Southern Africa, distinguished from the allied genus Hermannia in the filaments of the stamens being dilated in the middle. The species, only a few of which are in cultivation, are of easy culture in a light compost of equal parts loam, peat, and leaf mould, to which may be added a little sand. The plants soon acquire a straggling habit, unless the young shoots are frequently stopped in order to produce a lateral growth. Propagated freely, during summer, by cuttings of young shoots, 1in. to 2in. long, inserted in sandy soil, under a glass.
M. glabrata (smooth). fl. yellow, drooping, rather large, with a Jonquil-like fragrance; peduncles two-flowered, very long. April to June. l. lanceolate, distantly pinnatifidly toothed, roughish from dots and stellated down; stipules ovate, mucronate. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1789. Sub-shrub. (A. B. R. 85.) M. incisa (cut-leaved).* fl. deep crimson in the bud, inclining to a deep orange as they open, and finally becoming yellowish; peduncles usually two-flowered. July and August. l. inciso-pinnatifid, covered with glandular, stellate, and simple down. h. 2ft. to 4ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1792. Shrub. (B. M. 353.)