THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 157 



grow into dense bushes and others into trees of more than 

 moderate dimensions; that the species is found plentifully in 

 Europe and that it ,<,n-o\vs abundantly along the Atlantic coast 

 of the United States. The bright red berries and glossy 

 green leaves, which vary greatly even on the same tree, are 

 familiar to all, but the blossoms, white or creamy in color, ap- 

 pearing in May, are not so well known. All through the win- 

 ter the berries, which ripen in Se[)tember, hang on the 

 branches. The timber of the holly tree is very white and 

 tt)Ugh and hard and is used to some extent commercially. 



Mistletoe is a parasitic evergreen living on deciduous trees 

 as far north as New Jersey and Indiana and as far south as 

 Florida and Texas. Phoradendron, is the Greek name for the 

 American species of mistletoe and this "tree thief" may be 

 found living on apple tree, thorn tree, maple, poplar, locust 

 and linden, but rarely on the oak. The mistletoe of the Old 

 World is Viscum album, and so plentiful is it in some parts of 

 England as to give an orchard a blooming appearance even in 

 the snows of winter. Our American variety is called a false 

 mistletoe, but it has inherited all the store of traditions and 

 legends gathered around the European mistletoe. 



The association of holly and mistletoe with Christmas may 

 be traced far back to the days when there was no Christmas 

 and the pagan "festival of the sun", or Yuletide, was cele- 

 brated. Yuletide, the turning of the sun in its winter solstice, 

 was celebrated as far back as 2000 B. C. by the fire-worship- 

 pers of Persia and India. They are known to have venerated 

 the holly and to have used it in their rites. They believed 

 that the holly tree cast no shadow and that it was highly 

 efficacious to sprinkle the face of a newly born child with 

 water impregnated with holly bark. According to tradition 

 this was the bush in which Jehovah appeared to Moses. 



