180 TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO BULLETIN. [XIX. 4. 



BIRD VINE, MISTLETOE, VAGE, KAKA-ZOUEZO. 



These are the local names applied generally to several shrubby plants 

 of the Natural Order Loranthacece, allied to the mistletoe of Europe. 

 These plants are semi-parasitic on the branches of trees, penetrating the 

 wood with their root-suckers and drawing upon the sap of the host for 

 their supply of water and of substances raised in solution from the soil. 

 They are not completely parasitic since they possess green leaves and 

 manufacture their own supply of sugar or starch. 



Of the numerous species which occur a few are pests of cultivated 

 trees, and of these Stntthanthus dichotrianthus is by far the most 

 troublesome, occurring on a wide range of hosts and having external 

 running roots which enable it to spread quickly among the branches 

 and to establish many points of connection and food supply with the 

 wood. It is the only one to which the name of vine is at all appropriate, 

 as other species are bushy in form with only one attachment. 



The fruits of these plants are enveloped in a sticky mucilage, and 

 their distribution is mainly effected by birds which eat the berries and 

 reject the seeds or void them in their excrement. 



The remedy adopted is the severance of the branch to which the 

 parasite is attached. 



LOVE VINE. 



The flowering plant commonly known as love vine is one of a genus 

 of parasites of the Natural Order Convolvulacecc, known in England as 

 dodders. The local representative is Cuscuta americana L. The seed 

 germinates on the ground and sends out a thread-like shoot the tip of 

 which circles in search of a living support. "When a suitable connection 

 is effected the love vine loses its attachment to the soil and proceeds to 

 develop among the twigs of its host, twining about them and forming 

 small suckers at numerous points of contact. These establish connection 

 with the conducting tissues of the host and draw from it the whole of 

 the nourishment required, since this plant, unlike bird-vine, has no 

 green leaves of its own. 



Love vine is particularly common in Trinidad on Hibiscus hedges, 

 and has a very wide range of hosts among shrubs and small trees. On 

 crop-plants it is perhaps most often seen on cassava, and occasionally 

 occurs on citrus trees and cacao. As a pest, apart from doing damage 

 to hedges, it is not of much importance. 



Love vine is an annual plant, and dies out when fruiting is completed. 

 It is often destroyed by one or more parasitic fungi in the wet season. 

 It is reproduced by seed, and also grows readily from any fragment. 

 Children often aid its spread by throwing it about. 



The treatment usually adopted is the cutting out and burning or 



' burying of the infested branches. The parasite can also be destroyed 



~byj[spraying with Cooper's Cattle Dip. 1^ ounces to the gallon. This 



burns the leaves of the host but on Hibiscus hedges at any rate does no 



permanent damage. The hedge should be trimmed low before spraying. 



