Commentary for Sukkah 3:2
הֲדַס הַגָּזוּל וְהַיָּבֵשׁ, פָּסוּל. שֶׁל אֲשֵׁרָה וְשֶׁל עִיר הַנִּדַּחַת, פָּסוּל. נִקְטַם רֹאשׁוֹ, נִפְרְצוּ עָלָיו אוֹ שֶׁהָיוּ עֲנָבָיו מְרֻבּוֹת מֵעָלָיו, פָּסוּל. וְאִם מִעֲטָן, כָּשֵׁר. וְאֵין מְמַעֲטִין בְּיוֹם טוֹב:
A stolen or dried out hadas is pasul. (A hadas) from an asheirah or from a city gone astray (after idolatry) is pasul. If its head were severed, or if its leaves were broken, or if its grapes were more than its leaves, it is pasul. And if he diminished them, it is kasher. But they may not be diminished on the festival. [("If its head were severed, etc.":) The halachah is not in accordance with the anonymous Mishnah, but according to R. Tarfon, who says below (3:4) that even if all three were severed, it is kasher. ("its grapes":) It has a fruit similar to grapes. ("If its grapes were more than its leaves, etc.":) This is so only with black or red grapes; but if they were green, they are one with the hadas, and it is kasher. ("But they may not be diminished, etc.":) For this is "amending" (which is forbidden on a festival)].
Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
One [that came from] an asherah or a condemned city is invalid.
If its tip was broken off, or its leaves were detached, or its berries were more numerous than its leaves, it is invalid. But if he diminished them it is valid. But he may not diminish them on the festival.
This mishnah deals with the hadas, the myrtle. Many of the details of this mishnah are the same as those in yesterday’s mishnah concerning the lulav. I will comment only on aspects of the hadas that differ from those of the lulav.
Sections one and two: See sections one and two of yesterday’s mishnah.
Section three: The first two rules of this section are the same as that in section three of yesterday’s mishnah. The third is unique to the hadas. Some hadasim have berries attached to them. While hiking last week I think I actually saw a wild hadas that had many berries (I’m not a botanist, so I’m not sure it really was a hadas). They weren’t really berries as much as little black things that looked liked capers. In any case, too many of these berries renders the otherwise valid hadas invalid. However, the hadas is invalid only if the berries are still on the branch. If he removes the berries, the hadas again becomes valid. Finally, the mishnah states that he may not remove the berries on the festival itself. This is because it is forbidden to “make a vessel” on a festival or on Shabbat and by making an invalid hadas valid, he is making a vessel.