mistletoe

mistletoe, any of many species of parasitic plants, several of which are associated with Christmas for their green foliage and attractive fruits. Mistletoes are found in the families Loranthaceae, Misodendraceae, and Santalaceae, the latter containing the well-known members in the genera Viscum, Phoradendron, and Arceuthobium. Most mistletoes are able to parasitize a variety of hosts, and some species even parasitize other mistletoes, which in turn are parasitic on a host. They are usually evergreen and are easy to locate and harvest after their deciduous hosts have lost their leaves in late fall and winter; hence, the plants often are used as festive decorations at Christmastime, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. They are associated with a holiday tradition of kissing.

Natural history

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As hemiparasites, mistletoes contain chlorophyll and can make some of their own food. Most tropical mistletoes are pollinated by birds, most temperate species by flies and wind. Fruit-eating birds distribute the seeds in their droppings or by wiping their beaks, to which the seeds often adhere, against the bark of a tree. Dwarf mistletoes (genus Arceuthobium), which are parasitic primarily on coniferous trees, use hydrostatic pressure to shoot their sticky seeds away from the parent plant at speeds of nearly 80 km (50 miles) per hour. After a mistletoe germinates, a modified root (haustorium) penetrates the bark of the host tree and forms a connection through which water and nutrients pass from host to parasite.

Mistletoes are slow-growing but persistent; their natural death is determined by the death of the hosts. They are pests of many ornamental, timber, and crop trees and are the cause of abnormal growths called “witches’ brooms” that deform the branches and decrease the reproductive ability of the host. The only effective control measure is complete removal of the parasite from the host.

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European mistletoe

European mistletoe (Viscum album), the traditional mistletoe of literature and Christmas celebrations, was known for centuries before the Christian era. It is distributed throughout Eurasia from Great Britain to northern Asia. It forms a drooping yellowish evergreen bush, 60–90 cm (2–3 feet) long, on the branch of a host tree. It has thickly crowded forking branches with oval to lance-shaped leathery leaves about 5 cm (2 inches) long, arranged in pairs, each opposite the other on the branch. The flowers, in compact spikes, are bisexual or unisexual and have regular symmetry. They are yellower than the leaves, appear in late winter, and soon give rise to one-seeded white berries, which when ripe are filled with a sticky semitransparent pulp. These berries, and those of other mistletoes, contain toxic compounds poisonous to many animals and to humans. The European mistletoe is most abundant on apple trees, poplars, willows, lindens, and hawthorns.

Its North American counterpart, the Eastern, or oak, mistletoe (Phoradendron serotinum), also parasitizes many deciduous trees, including oaks.

Cultural significance and traditions

In some parts of Europe the midsummer gathering of mistletoe is still associated with the burning of bonfires, a remnant of sacrificial ceremonies performed by ancient priests, the Druids. Mistletoe was once believed to have magic powers as well as medicinal properties. Later the custom developed in England (and, still later, in the United States) of kissing under the mistletoe, an action that once was believed to lead inevitably to marriage.