PARK AND CEMETERY 
101 
ordinary habit. Only a few of either represent the 
alliance in the United States. At Kew the alliance is 
represented by but two hardy plants. 
Phoradendron flavescens has been found near 
Hightstown, Mercer Co., and near New Drunswick, 
Middlese.K Co., N. J., hut does not ripen seed with 
regularity. It is said to sometimes fail to do so in 
the southern i)art of that state. I may mention that 
I persuaded a South Carolina friend in 1875 to make 
what I believe to have been the first shipment of this 
plant !o New York for Christmas. It has since grown 
to be an extensive trade. I have even heard of arti- 
ficial propagation. In parks the host trees may be 
grouped for purposes of experiment. In favorable 
climates, however, Phoradendrons and Loranthus are 
apt to be nuisances. 
Nutysia floribunda is a monotypic Australian 
shrub, growing in the ground up to 15 or more feet 
high, varying in the color of its flowers through 
shades of flame color and orange, exceedingly showy, 
and known as a “fire tree.” It is not safe to use the 
popular name, however, for there are more “fire trees” 
in Australia than you can shake a stick at. 
Loranthus is a large genus of 350 or more species 
divided into 20 sections. They are common in many 
moist tropical and sub-tropical climates. One species 
extends to southern Europe, but I think there are none 
in the United States. The majority are parasites. 
Some of the showy species in India, however, seem to 
grow in accumulations of leaf mould lodged on the 
trees, and are easily detached. If they were abun- 
dant as the commoner kinds they would make a gor- 
geous sight, for their flowers are larger and more 
brilliant than trumpet honeysuckles, with which botan- 
ists formerly connected them, but what seems to be 
a separate calyx in the illustration, is a swollen rim, 
not unlike Mirabilis in its continuous structure, and 
the books of the botanists mention other differences. 
Visciint album is the English mistletoe, one of a 
genus of 29 species. It is propagated for sale on young 
apple trees by some English nurserymen. I have 
tried the berries brought here at Christmas time, on 
apple trees, but they rotted, either from being unripe, 
or because the climate was too severe. In Europe it 
has l)een recorded as growing on Limes, Horse chest- 
nuts, Maples, Apples, Pears, Hawthorns, Poplars, Wil- 
lows and several other trees, and it varies to some 
extent. 
Arccuthobiuin is a genus of 5 or 6 small parasites 
found in Europe, W. Asia, Mexico, and the United 
States. A. pusillum grows on Picea nigra in Penn- 
sylvania, New York, and New England. 
Phoradendron flavescens is the American mistletoe, 
one of a genus of 80 species. It is common from 
southern New Jersey and throughout the cotton belt, 
growing on several deciduous trees. In New Jersey 
it prefers Acer rubrum and Nyssa sylvatica. Eurther 
south it grows abundantly on Quercus Phellos. There 
are other species along the Mexican border growing 
on leguminous trees, elms, oaks, and junipers. 
The sandal-wood tribes are mostly terrestrial. 
They are quite sparsely represented in the United 
.States. At the south and northward to southern 
Pennsylvania two or three shrubs occur, and further 
north two or three root parasites. In sub-tropical 
climates elsewhere a number of species are found but 
little known in gardens. 
PHORADENDRON FLAVESCENS — American Mistletoe. 
