A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

Viscus,-i (s.m.II) abl. sg. visco, also viscum,-i (s.n.II), abl. sg. visco: the mistletoe; birdlime made from mistletoe berries; in Gk. ixos (s.m.II), mistletoe (Hoxanthus europaeus); birdlime “prepared from the mistletoe berry;” also oak-gum “used for the same purpose;” any sticky substance.(Liddell & Scott)].

“Bird lime is a thick, soft, tough, and sticky mass of a greenish color, has an unpleasant smell and bitter taste, melts easily on heating, and hardens when exposed in thin layers to the air.... The best quality is prepared from the inner green bark of the holly (Ilex aquifolium), which is boiled, then put in barrels, and submitted for 14 days to slight fermentation until it becomes sticky. Another process of preparing it is to mix the boiled bark with juice of mistletoe berries and burying it in the ground until fermented. The bark is then pulverized, boiled, and washed.” (1957 Fortunes in Formulas. Hiscox, G. D. & T. O’Connor Sloane, eds. Books, Inc. New York). It is best if it can be easily washed off the feathers of the birds, which birds are generally eate.

- viscum in quercu adgnasci, to grow mistletoe on an Oak tree.

Viscus,-i (s.m.II), abl. sg. visco, also viscum,-i (s.n.II), abl. sg. visco: the mistletoe; birdlime made from mistletoe berries; in Gk. ixos (s.m.II), mistletoe (Hoxanthus europaeus); birdlime “prepared from the mistletoe berry;” also oak-gum “used for the same purpose;” any sticky substance (Liddell & Scott)].

“Bird lime is a thick, soft, tough, and sticky mass of a greenish color, has an unpleasant smell and bitter taste, melts easily on heating, and hardens when exposed in thin layers to the air.... The best quality is prepared from the inner green bark of the holly (Ilex aquifolium), which is boiled, then put in barrels, and submitted for 14 days to slight fermentation until it becomes sticky. Another process of preparing it is to mix the boiled bark with juice of mistletoe berries and burying it in the ground until fermented. The bark is then pulverized, boiled, and washed.” (1957 Fortunes in Formulas. Hiscox, G. D. & T. O’Connor Sloane, eds. Books, Inc. New York). It is best if it can be easily washed off the feathers of the birds, which birds are generally eaten.

- viscum in quercu adgnasci, to grow mistletoe on an Oak tree.