Mistletoe – a Plant Parasite

Facts About the Object of a Familiar Christmas Tradition

© Rosemary Drisdelle

Mistletoe Berries, Dirk Federlein

Mistletoe is associated with Christmas and kissing, but the natural history of this familiar group of parasitic plants is as interesting as the tradition and folklore.

Most Christians know mistletoe as the green bundle or sprig of leaves and white berries that we hang in the house at Christmas. For hundreds of years, it’s been a traditional stopping place for couples to kiss—a zone to linger in or scrupulously avoid, depending on the company.

Mistletoe is not just one plant. There are thousands of different species, divided up into the true mistletoes—American and European species, Phoradendron spp. and Viscum spp.—and dwarf mistletoe, Arceuthobium spp. All are parasitic plants, or more correctly, hemiparasites, of trees: they take water and nutrients from the plant they grow on, but also produce some chlorophyll and draw energy from the sun. Having no true roots, they produce structures called sinkers and haustoria, which penetrate host tissues.

Mistletoe in Folklore, Tradition, and Medicine

There’s more to mistletoe than Christmas kissing—the plant has a long and interesting history in human tradition and lore that continues today:

True Mistletoe

References to true mistletoes are confusing: many people refer to American mistletoe as false mistletoe; however, botanically, Phoradendron spp. are true mistletoes, and are distinguished from dwarf mistletoes, which look quite different:

Dwarf mistletoe

Like true mistletoe, Arceuthobium spp. live on trees, but they infest conifers, occurring farther north and causing more serious host disease:

Dwarf mistletoes are not the species traditionally gathered at Christmas, and people have not been observed kissing underneath them.

Sources:

“True Mistletoes” and “Dwarf Mistletoes.” Young, Deborah, and Mary W. Olsen. CALS publications and videos. College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona.

Natural Magick. Dubats, Sally. New York: Kensington, 1999.


The copyright of the article Mistletoe – a Plant Parasite in Botany is owned by Rosemary Drisdelle. Permission to republish Mistletoe – a Plant Parasite must be granted by the author in writing.


Mistletoe Berries, Dirk Federlein
Mistletoe - a Tree Parasite, Mira Pavlakovic
     


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