A Gardener’s Diary

I expect everyone reading this column will be familiar with mistletoe.  Sprigs of it held over the heads of the fairer sex have opened up whole new worlds at Christmas time for generations of young lads.  Romantic though it is, this plant is too idle to make it on its own, for it is a parasite living off the efforts of those trees on which it grows.  It belongs to the family Loranthaceae (a bad enough name at this time in the morning).

Mistletoe can be seen growing on deciduous trees in winter throughout Europe. It is not a particular nuisance, and produces small white berries which the birds love and which they eventually deposit onto the branches of other trees. So it is spread.  Why it was ever associated with romance I can’t imagine.  The origin of that is lost in the mists of time.

Not to be outdone, Guyana and many other South American tropical countries and Caribbean islands have their own version of this parasitic plant.  You all know it as the bird vine. It is closely related to the European mistletoe (also belonging to the family Loranthaceae) and is not at all romantic.  Not to put too fine a point on it, it is a damned nuisance. It festoons hundreds and hundreds of trees and shrubs in and around Georgetown, and it is spread in the same way as its European counterpart, the mistletoe.

Birds eat the fruits of both these parasites, and in the course of time deposit the sticky seed on branches which they visit. If left unchecked it will smother a tree to death and there is, as far as I know, no easy way to get rid of it.  Birds tend to perch on small twigs in order to see what’s going on around them.

When it can be reached, young bird vine can be pulled off easily, but on large trees it means a lot of climbing and often involves the removal of large limbs weighed down with the parasite, and in many cases the removal of entire trees. In Trinidad it has always been a terrible problem, and years ago was proclaimed a notifiable pest. Its removal there was and still is compulsory, and that’s not a bad idea.
Myrtle limes

Finally there is a plant called the limeberry or the myrtle lime. Its Latin name is Triphasia trifolia. As its specific name suggests, the leaf comprises 3 leaflets (trifoliate).  It is related to the citrus, and although it is grown throughout the tropical regions of the world its natural home is in Burma.  It is not at all common in Guyana yet, but it really ought to be in everyone’s garden.

My late mother-in-law had a plant growing by her gate, and believe me it is one of the most gloriously scented plants imaginable. The white flowers and the scent are of course designed to attract pollinating insects; probably moths.  One sniff and you’re in heaven. Some jasmines and gardenias produce scents which can be a bit cloying. Not so this plant. Triphasia has other virtues as well as the scent of its white flowers. It has spines, grows quickly and is useful for hedging. The single-seeded fruits are small (½ an inch in diameter) and edible. They are specially preserved in China.

Enough for now. Everyone seems to be in a great hurry now so take great care. Take care on the roads and may your God go with you wherever you are in Guyana. Almost as important, take great care of your plants.