Personality of plants

COMRADES OF THE PLANT WORLD
ask from their tree-hosts is a branch on which
to perch. There are probably few trees which
are not delighted to have such delicate, fairy-
like creatures add to their own beauty and
charm. They wear them much as a woman wears
a rose in her hair.
In America there are well-mannered para-
sites such as the decorative Spanish Moss so
common throughout the South. This plant is
normal in all respects; except that, perched on
a kindly tree, it draws all its nourishment from
the air instead of through soil-piercing roots.
The Mistletoe is a perfect example of a
mutualist. Early in its aerial life, it sends a
root through the bark of its tree companion
and during the spring and summer, absorbs
much food. When winter days come, and the
tree has lost its leaves, the grateful messmate
reverses the process and sends into the heart
of its friend the larger part of the nourishment
which it has been able to store up during the
prosperous weeks of summer. The seeds of
the Mistletoe are interesting because they are
covered with a sticky fluid which enables them
to travel from tree to tree on the feet of birds.
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