MAHOGANY TREES

** West Indian variety Swietenia mahogani (L.)
Native to the West Indies, the mahogany is now said to be protected in Montserrat, though we are unsure what that means as we see so many cut down. Among several young trees, we have one very tall old tree on our property which truly is the garden's centerpiece as well as being a stunning survivor of the 1989 devastation wrought by Hurricane Hugo. It is a West Indian mahogany which is said to have a better wood grain than the other mahogany on the island which is called Honduran mahogany, but it seems to be much slower growing than its Honduran cousin. West Indian mahogany trees lose their leaves in the spring dry season in April and May, though the old leaves are almost immediately replaced by new growth. The mahogany can be most readily identified by the rounded oval pods at the top of the tree which come from nondescript flowers born in late spring to early summer.
From: The Caribbean and South Florida
Text & Photo Copyrighted © KO 2008

**Honduran variety Swietenia macrophylla
In our first few years here in Montserrat, we worked hard clearing our land. We got to a final corner two years ago and discovered a lovely, straight as an arrow, mahogany growing in the center of a large nondescript tropical forest area. We cleared all of the less appealing trees and brush and were left with a mahogany about six inches in diameter. That small tree has grown at an enormous rate and is now well over a foot in diameter. In its native environment this tree will grow to be one hundred and fifty feet tall. It is the tree now used for mahogany wood the world over.
Text & Photo Copyrighted © KO 2007

Marjoram Origanum majorana
Planting and Care: This most essential herb is easy to grow once it is started. That is the only tricky part. If you are lucky enough to be near plant supply sources, buy one. If not, you are in the same boat as we and I wish you well with starting seeds. I have no advice as I believe only being lucky has resulted in our having a plant. Once your plant is started and on its way it will grow well in full sun or semi shade. If grown as a potted plant I believe it prefers a clay pot. If grown in the garden it will spread, putting down roots from its delicate stems. It likes a sweet soil (alkaline) and regular rain or watering.
Text Copyrighted © KO 2008

Mammey, Mammey Apple, Manseport (In Montserrat) Mammea americana
The fruit of this large tree are baseball sized with a light brown rough skin. The interior is yellow/orange in color and very sweet. For those of us who have developed an allergy to mangos, this might be a close altenatrive fruit.
Benefits: Aside from the lovely fruit it bears, many parts of this tree can be used for their natural insecticidal properties. For more information take a look at this website: click here!
From: The Caribbean, Central America and the northern countries of South America
Planting and Care: Growing up to seventy five feet tall, the mammey is a a tropical tree, hardy in almost all conditions in the tropics, but it is not at all resistant to COLD.
Text and Photographs Copyrighted © Krika.com 2008

**Mango Tree Mangifera indica L.
Here in our garden our mangos bloom most heavily in January with the harvest beginning in May and continuing through August. The trees bloom again in September, but lightly, just enough to give us some fruit in time for Christmas. Mango trees can become huge, up to about ninety feet, but ours are not yet so big.
Benefits: Its leaves make a great yellow dye and are sometimes used for cattle fodder. If you ever wanted to cut one down, you could use the bark for its tannin and the wood for ship building. It should not be used in making charcoal.
According to author David Eric Brussel who wrote Potions, Poisons, and Panaceas: An Ethnobotanical Study of Montserrat, a tea made from the leaves is used “. . . to treat colds, sinus congestion, asthma, coughs, and arthritis. The leaves are chewed to expel intestinal worms. . . . The resin from this tree is said to have antisyphilitic properties. A decoction of the bark or the dried pulverized seed is taken internally for chronic diarrhea.” (p 18)
CAUTION: The mango tree is in the poison ivy family so if you are allergic to one, you may be allergic to the other and this is something to be careful about. After living for years in Mexico mangos became a staple in our diet. BUT, having bought a property in Montserrat with two mango trees I developed an allergy when I harvested the fruit over the several weeks of ripening and peeled and chopped it for the freezer almost every day so we would have mangos all year. At first I became red as if I had a sunburn, then blisters grew on my swelling hands and face. I resisted as long as I could, but after a week or so I finally succumbed to a doctor's prescription for Prednisone as the burning and itching became insupportable. This is a serious allergic reaction and sadly I will probably never be able to eat or touch a mango again.
Diseases and Insects: The most common disease anthracnose is indicated by black spots on the leaves and can be treated with a fungicide. As for insects mangos are not bothered too much except for nematodes. Plant marigolds under the tree to repel this nasty critter.
From: Although they are now common in many parts of the world, mango trees are originally from India.
Fruit: Mangos should be picked when ripe as green fruits do not ripen well. Unfortunately, ripe mangos are very appealing to our garden thrushes.
Varieties: It is said by some that the best variety to grow if you are starting fresh is “Bombay” because it is less stringy than other mangos. In Mexico we were enamored of the petecón mango. Here in Montserrat our Julie mangos are already mature so we’ll stick with them, but a tree bearing petecóns would have been a real treat.
Text & Photographs Copyrighted © Krika.com 2008

**Manseport See Mammey above

**Marigold (annual flower) Tagetes
Marigolds are great flowers in almost any setting; their colors are in the red to yellow range, the height of these feathery leaved aromatic plants varies from six inches to three feet and the flowers from about four inches across to only about one inch.
Benefits: Marigolds should be planted in almost any garden anywhere to naturally prevent insect damage. They really do work as protectors of vulnerable plants such as tomatoes, even here in the Caribbean where they are a natural inhibitor of nematodes, which are a serious problem.
Spiritual Uses: Marigolds are a staple part of Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertes) celebrations all over Mexico. Do take a look at our story about this very special day in Mexico to learn more about the tradition and about how the marigold is used at that time of the year.
Link: http://www.krika.com/wsdayofthedead.html
Warning: Do not plant marigolds near green beans; they are not friends.
Text and Photograph Copyrighted © Krika.com 2008

**Mint Herb Menta or Monarda punctata or for spearmint Mentha spicata
Mint is one of our favorite plants; it likes sun and lots of water. Just yesterday we visited the Agricultural Department here in Montserrat and seeing potted mint plants we thought we would buy a few and put them in our garden. As it turned out, the mint plants that we saw were all owned by the Agricultural Department staff. None were for sale to the public like us, small backyard gardeners nor to any of the professional farmers working within their recently granted hundreds of square feet of greenhouse capacity.
Planting and Growth: In Mexico, snips of thriving mint plants would be given by anyone who had one to whomever asked. Here in Montserrat even at the Agricultural Department no snips and no plants were available yesterday (6/27/08) from lovely large mint plants.
Text and Photograph Copyrighted © Krika.com 2008

Mission Cactus See The "N" Page NOPAL

Monkey Pod See The "R" Page RAIN TREE

**Morning Glory Bush Flowering Bush Ipomoea fistulosa
This tough, man-sized bush thrives in rough conditions here in Montserrat. It is more beautiful if cared for, but it seems to be one of those plants that has a will of its own to survive. We had one by the wall just inside our driveway entrance and its three inch lavender flowers were a continual delight. We liked it enough to use it as a hedge. It is fast growing and continually covered with flowers.
From: This glorious flowering bush originated in the tropical areas of the Americas.
Landscaping ideas: As you can see in the photograph to the right, this flowering bush will make a beautiful hedge. Ours in the photograph replaced a very tall and very old red hibiscus hedge which died while we were away in Greece. Surprisingly on a small island with folks who resist giving compliments, our new hedge has drawn quite a bit of attention.
Text & Photographs Copyrighted © Krika.com 2008

Moses-In-The-Boat See The "B" Page BOATLILY

Mother in law plant See The "S" Page SNAKE PLANT

Mountain Mahoe Tree, Tree Hibiscus Hibiscus elatus
Lost to the volcanic eruption 7/03, this was the large-leaved tree with deep red orange flowers that grew beside our pool. Its leaves and especially its flowers made for a bit of a mess in the pool which took a lot of extra cleaning, but enjoying the tree’s beauty while lazing in the pool was well worth the effort of a little more clean up. Swimming under the tree was lovely. It originated in Hawaii.
Text & Photographs Copyrighted © KO 2004

Mung Beans See The "B" Page BEANS

MUSHROOMS

Edible Mushrooms Agaricus
Planting and Care: Mushrooms like a warm, moist and dark environment and monitoring the pH of the growing medium is also important. Given a place to grow with these qualities, mushrooms will be a self sustaining crop.
Text Copyrighted © KO 2008

Stinkhorn mushroom (1) "Stinky fingers" Mutinus elegans
When we first saw this one growing in our shady terrace garden we had a good laugh about the shape and coloring, naming it "stinky fingers" before running quickly away from the truly awful smell. We took a photograph the next morning of the new ones that had appeared overnight and then with our noses in an uproar, we dug them out, finding them connected to firm roundish white balls just under the soil surface. We became very religious about the removal every morning, because the smell was so bad and so strong we couldn't spend any time in the terrace unless they were removed. A good friend who recently left Montserrat for a home in Oregon told us what they were and we now have an answer to our long standing question about another stinkhorn mushroom.
Text and Photograph Copyrighted © Krika.com 2008

Stinkhorn mushroom (2) "Lattice stinkhorn" Clathrus ruber
This apparition appeared in the area of our upper vegetable garden about two years ago. About six inches high and brightly colored, they smelled enough to attract flies, but not enough to drive us from the garden as did the Stinky Fingers described above. They seemed pretty creepy and none of the local farmers we talked to had any idea what they were, nor did we until a very short while ago thanks to our friend Inge in Oregon. For more information on stinkhorns, here is a good web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/phallaceae.html
Text and Photograph Copyrighted © KO 2007