CHARACTERS—SCALES, CATAPHYLS 13 
closely that species of either genus are commonly to be found in herbaria 
as representative of the other. Unlike typical foliage leaves, these scales 
do not disartieulate, though a constriction at the base of the seales іп 
two forms (Pl. 3) affords partial ground for their specifie recognition : 
one species of the Mexican mountains, P. minutifolium, has almost 
equally small if fleshy disarticulating leaves: and two of the South 
American species, P. tunaeforme and P. fragile, are characterized by 
bearing small scale-like leaves only,—a character also encountered in 
the related genus Dendrophthora. 
CaTAPHYLS.—If any species of the United States, for example P. 
Eaton: of the everglades of Florida, is compared with any West Indian 
or South Ameriean species, for example P. rubrum of the Bahamas, the 
latter will be found to possess constantly in addition to its foliage one 
or more pairs of scale-leaves at least on the lowermost joint of every 
branch. Comparable with the scales of the flowering spikes and with 
the stem-seales of P. juniperinum ete., these cataphyls afford by their 
presence or absence what proves to be one of the most important char- 
aeters for the primary division of the genus Phoradendron. Usually 
cataphyls do not subtend flowers or spikes, apparently serving no fune- 
tion further than the protection they may afford the shoot in its earliest 
development; but in P. crassifolium and P. craspedophllum spikes are 
regularly and characteristically found in the axils of some of the cata- 
phyls, and less characteristically in a few other cases. 
Never found in any species of the United States, absent from three- 
fourths of those of Mexico and Central America, but invariably present 
in all of the South American and West Indian species, these scales are 
usually confined when present to the basal joint of each branch, though 
in cases of true or cymose forking they are found on all joints—since 
only basal joints are then present. In a very small percentage, only, 
of the tropical species with percurrent or monopodial branching, e. g. 
P. flavens and P. crassifolium and their allies, cataphyls are found on 
all foliage internodes; and in a single known species, P. paradorum, the 
ıyls and ancipital 
joints without them, in regular alternating succession. ^—— — | 
stem is made up of rather terete joints with cataphy 
PARASITISM, HOSTS AND ENEMIES 
All of the species of Phoradendron are parasitic. In the rather few e 
eases in whieh they are eonsidered as noxious parasites interest centers 
about the trees on which they occur, though their fruit is said to be 
poisonous*. Unfortunately the hosts of a very large part of the tropical 
«СУ, Bray, W. L. The mistletoe pest in the southwest. Bull. no. 166, Bur. РІ. 
Industry, U. S. Dep. Agr. 1910.—Hedgcock, С. С. Notes on some diseases of trees 
in our national forests.—V. Phytopathology. vol. 5. p. 175-181. June 1915.—Pam- 
mel, Manual of poisonous plants. p. 106, 415-6, 836. f. 196. 
