Myrcia
(a mythological name). ORD. Myrtaceae. A very large genus (some 500 species have been described, but the number may probably be reduced to about 300) of stove trees or shrubs, all natives of tropical and sub-tropical America. Flowers often small; peduncles axillary, sub-terminal, many or rarely few-flowered; calyx limb segments and petals five, rarely four or three. Leaves opposite, penniveined. The species are not much seen in cultivation; the under-mentioned is, perhaps, the best for horticultural purposes. It thrives in a compost of sandy peat and fibry loam. Propagated, in May, by cuttings of young shoots, rather firm at the base, inserted in sand, under a bell glass, in gentle bottom heat.
M. acris (sharp). A synonym of Pimenta acris.
M. amplexicaulis (stem-clasping). fl. white, fascicled on the branches, sessile, 3/4in. in diameter; panicles downy, from the upper axils, 6in. to 10in. long. l. opposite, sessile, 10in. to 16in. long, narrow-oblong or linear-oblong, acuminate, downy on both surfaces, reticulated above; lateral nerves below numerous, very divergent, elevated. Branches strict, erect, terete, stout; branchlets as thick as a goose-quill. h. 5ft. Rio de Janeiro, 1869. A very handsome shrub. (B. M. 5790.)