LORANTHACEiE. 189 



GENUS L—V I S C U M. Zinn. 



Plowers unisexual, dioecious. Male flowers : calyx obsolete ; 

 corolla of 4 fleshy petals united at the base ; anthers 4, adnate to 

 the petals, opening . by numerous pores ; ovary rudimentary or 

 none. Pemale flowers : calyx-tube adnate to the ovary ; calyx- 

 limb obsolete ; petals 4, inserted on the summit of the calyx ; 

 stamens absent ; ovary inferior ; stigma sessile. Berry pulpy, 

 1-seeded. 



Parasitical shrubs, growing on the branches of trees. 



The name of this genus of plants comes from the Greek word /kctkoc (bisJcos), 

 tenacious, from the adhesive properties of the berries of the species. 



SPECIES I— V ISCUM ALBUM. Li>m. 

 Plate DCXXXV*. 

 Billot, Fl. Gall, et Germ. Exsicc. No. 56Q. 



Stem repeatedly dichotomous, terete. Leaves opposite, oblan- 

 ceolate, coriaceous-fleshy, without evident nerves. Flowers in 

 clusters of about 3 together in the upper forks of the branches and 

 axils of the leaves. 



Parasitic on the branches of various trees, — especially on 

 apple, poplar, hawthorn, lime, and maple. 



Not uncommon in the South and West of England, rare in the 

 North ; not native in Scotland. 



England, [Scotland.] Shrub. Sprin 



O" 



A glabrous evergreen shrub, much branched, the branches 

 round, regularly dichotomous, enlarged and readily breaking at the 

 nodes, with thick leathery dim-green bark. Leaves oblong-oblan- 

 ceolate or -obovate, rounded at the apex, very thick, at first yellow- 

 green, but turning dark-green when mature, when they are 1^ to 

 2J inches long, opposite (rarely in whorls of 3), sessile, with a 

 horseshoe-shaped elevation at the base on the upper surface, with 

 about 5 very indistinct ribs, sprinkled wdth very minute glandular 

 dots. Elowers greenish, usually 3 together, in sessile clusters in 

 the terminal forks of the branches and axils of the leaves, seated on 

 a 4-sided short dilated peduncle, larger below the female than below 

 the male flowers ; each flower with 2 fleshy bracts at the base. Berry 

 about the size of a pea, white, with viscid pulp and a green com- 

 pressed seed. Eemale plant more luxuriant than the male. 



Interesting accounts of the parasitism of the Mistletoe will be 

 found in a paper by Dr. Harley, in Trans. Linn. Soc, Vol. XXIV. 



