Rules of kashruth of the hadas

What are the main rules of the kashruth of the hadas (myrtle branch, one of the four species taken on Sukkoth).

Hello!

The basic rules are as follows:

1. The length of the myrtle branch has to be at least three handbreadths, which is 24-30 cm. (depending on whose opinion you follow).
2. Its leaves have to be “trebled”, that is, they have to grow in groups of three, where the leaves of each group grow out around the stem at the same height. The best is for the leaves to be trebled along the whole length of the three handbreadths. But it is permissible to rely on a more lenient opinion, whereby only the majority of this length has trebled leaves, which means about 13 – 16 cm. of trebled leaves.

The way that you measure each group of three is this. The letter of the law is that you don’t have to measure that all three leaves grow out at exact same height. It’s enough that they look like they grow at approximately the same place on the branch. But there are more stringent opinions that hold that they have to be at exactly the same height.

3. If those trebled leaves covered the whole branch, but then some of them fell off, you have to make sure that there are enough trebled leaves left (as per the previous item).
4. If the leaves became so dry that they don’t look green anymore, then the hadas is invalid.

Shulchan Oruch, section Orach Chaim, chapter 646