MISSELTOE. 131 



probably extracted the poisonous properties of the 

 leaves, and had become fatally impregnated with 

 them. 



Here grow several bushes of the true Aloe {A. soco- 

 tri?ia) ; whose serrate, fleshy leaves, and tall spikes of 

 tubular flowers, red, yellow and green, are well- 

 known. Though cultivated in some of the Antilles, 

 it does not appear to be much known in Jamaica, at 

 least in the parts with which I am familiar ; this 

 being the only locality in which I remember to have 

 seen it. 



But what interests me most in this place is a 

 flourishing Misseltoe, or God-bush, as the negroes 

 call it. It is growing on a Soursop {Anona muricata), 

 a tree which it principally aflects, overspreading every 

 branch, and effectually, though gradually, killing its 

 supporter. The seeds are viscous, and are to be seen 

 sticking on the leaves mid twigs, as well as on the 

 trunk ; in every instance rooting and shooting where 

 they adhere ; so that hundreds, perhaps I might say 

 thousands, of young plants, in various stages of for- 

 wardness, may be seen on this Soursop, springing 

 up from the surface of the leaves, three or four 

 on one leaf, and that on both the inferior and 

 superior faces. This I take to be a somewhat un- 

 usual phenomenon. It would be curious to ascertain 

 what becomes of these young plants when the leaves 

 on which they grow, fall and decay. Do they 

 become terrestrial, or perish ? Certainly I saw no 

 Misseltoe plants growing beneath the tree. 



