melampodet (melampod)

[ Here grows Melampode every where, And Teribinth, good for Gotes. Spenser, Shep. Cal., July. Melampodieæ (me-lam-po-di'ē-ē), n . pl . [NL. (A. P. de Candolle, 1836), Me lamp odium + -ea .] A subtribe of Helianthoideæ , of the natural order Compos itæ , characterized by the heterogamous flower-heads, the fertile pistillate ray-flowers, and the chaffy receptacle. It in cludes 21 genera and about 100 species, of which 20 belong to the genus Me lamp odium . The genera are widely dis persed over the world, and are mostly herbs. mel am pod i neo us (me-lam-po-din'e-us), a. [ Me lamp odium.] Resembling or belonging to the genus Me lamp odium. Me lamp odium (mel-am-pō'di-um), n. [NL. (Linnæus), mel am pod i on , Μελάμπους , L. Melampus , a legendary Greek physician, lit. black-footed: see Melampus .] A genus of composite plants of the subtribe Me lampodieæ . The achenia are thick; the 4 or 5 exterior bracts of the involucre are herbaceous, while the inner ones surround the achenes; the leaves are opposite and entire, and the flower-heads are peduncled. There are about 20 species, natives of tropical and subtropical America. Melampus (me-lam'pus), n. [NL., μέλας ( μελαν- ), black, + πούς (ποδ-) = E. foot .] In conch ., a genus of bas ommatophorous pulmonate gastropods of the family Auriculidæ . They are of small size, with an ovate shell, short spire, and sharp outer lip. A species is known as M. coffea, from its resemblance to a grain of coffee. M. bident a tus, about half an inch long, is very common in salt marshes along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States.