108 THE ROOT. 



closely adhere. The Lichens which cover the epider- 

 mis of many trees, the Blight which destroys the fruit, 

 and the Beech drops which are attached to the roots of 

 the tree whose name they hear, are all examples of 

 parasitic plants. 



The seed of Dodder or Love-vine, easily recognized 

 by the golden hue of its threadlike and leafless stems, 

 first germinates in the earth, and as its plumelet rises, 

 it seizes upon the first plant in its vicinity, sends forth 

 fibres which penetrate the bark of its supporter, after 

 which the root and lower part of the stem die, leav- 

 ing the vine to derive its sustenance entirely from the 

 plant to which it adheres. Others of this class are 

 never found on the earth, but their seeds are deposi- 

 ted on living trees, where they germinate and grow. 

 The Spanish Beard is found loosely attached to the for- 

 est trees of the South, to which it has been observed 

 by travellers to communicate a melancholy aspect. 

 This plant was named Tillandsiaby Linnaeus, "for it 

 brought to his mind the fate of the student, who in 

 going by sea from Stockholm to Abo, experienced so 

 severely the terrors of the deep, that he chose to 

 walk back, rather than again trust himself to so cruel a 

 deity as Neptune." This was Tillands, afterwards 

 professor of Botany at Abo, and Linnaeus named in hon- 

 or of its prototype, this plant of tropical America, 

 which cannot endure water.* 



The sacred Misletoe, once venerated for its all-heal- 

 ing virtues, is another example. It never grows on 

 the earth, and probably the observance of this fact, in- 

 spired the superstitious Druid with a belief, that it was 



" Lapland Tour. 



