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- 
trina ) ; 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 affects, overspreading every 
branch, and effectually, though gradually, killing its 
supporter. The seeds are viscous, and are to be seen 
sticking on the leaves and 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. 
