Martynia
(named after John Martyn, F.R.S., 1699-1768, once Professor of Botany at Cambridge, author of "Historia Plantarum Variorum"). ORD. Pedalineae. A genus comprising about ten species of erect or prostrate, clammy-pubescent, greenhouse herbs, sometimes annual, sometimes with a large tuberous perennial root, natives of the warmer regions of America. Flowers pink, violet, or pale yellowish, in short terminal racemes; corolla tube oblique or decurved at base, limb with five spreading lobes. Capsule sub-drupaceous, terminating in two curved beaks or hooks. Leaves opposite or alternate, long-stalked, cordate, thickly sinuate-toothed or palmately lobed. The best-known species is M. fragrans. This thrives in well-drained porous soil, in a warm, sheltered situation. Seeds should be sown, during the early part of spring, on a gentle hotbed, or in a warm, moist greenhouse, and the seedlings transferred to the open border about the latter part of June; or they may be grown on in pots for greenhouse decoration, if desired. The other species require similar treatment. All those described below are annuals.
M. annua (annual). A synonym of M. proboscidea.
M. diandra (diandrous). fl., thyrsoid in the forks of the stem, drooping; corolla with a white tube, tinged with purple, and spotted with red and yellow; limb pale red, with a shiny purple spot at each segment. July. l. opposite, lobed, cordate at the base, villous and viscid. Stem branched. h. 2ft. Mexico, 1731. (A. B. R. 575; B. R. 2001.) M. fragrans (fragrant).* fl. crimson-purple, with a yellow throat, large, fragrant, disposed in handsome spikes. Summer and autumn. fr. very singular, prolonged upwards into two curved, sharp, hooked horns, 3in. to 4in. long. l. large, long-stalked, cordate, angled, coarsely-toothed. h. 2ft. Mexico, 1840. If gathered when very young, the fruit is said to make an agreeable pickle in vinegar. (B. M. 4292; B. R. xxvii. 6.) M. lutea (yellow). fl. orange-yellow, suffused with blood-colour inside, large, funnel-shaped. August. l. opposite, cordate-orbicular, toothed, clothed with glandular down. Stem branched, downy. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Brazil, 1825. (B. R. 934.) M. proboscidea (proboscis-like).* fl. with a yellowish-white tube, variegated with green, yellow, and violet spots and lines; limb wide,. pale violet, marked with saffron-coloured and violet dots and lines. July. l. alternate, lobed, cordate at the base. Stem branched. h. 1ft. to 3ft. Mexico, 1738. SYN. M. annua. (B. M. 1056.)