Mistletoe (Phoradendron)

Eastern Mistletoe- Phoradendron leucarpum in Northeast Texas
(Loadmaster David R. Tribble)

There are 1,300 mistletoe species worldwide.with 30 in the continental US and Canada  and 6 others in Hawaii.

All mistletoes grow as parasites on tree and shrub branches. The genus name of North America’s oak mistletoe, the most common in the eastern US—is Phoradendron, Greek for “tree thief.”

Not very romantic! Ancient Anglo-Saxons noticed that mistletoe often grows where birds leave droppings, which is how mistletoe got its name: In Anglo-Saxon, “mistel” means “dung” and “tan” means “twig,” hence, “dung-on-a-twig.”

Photo: Nellie Benson,
Wikimedia Commons

Because mistletoe could blossom even during the coldest winter it is associated with fertility and vitality. The custom of kissing under the mistletoe started in 18th-century England.

The Romans associated mistletoe with peace, love and understanding and hung it over doorways to protect the household.

The mistletoe’s white berries are toxic to humans but are favored during autumn and winter by mammals from deer to chipmunks and bird such as robins, chickadees, bluebirds and mourning doves.

Brown-Honeyeater
feeding-on-mistletoe

 

Three U.S. butterflies depend on mistletoe for survival: the great purple hairstreak, the thicket hairstreak and the Johnson’s hairstreak. These butterflies lay eggs on mistletoe, the caterpillars  eat the leaves, and the adults feed on mistletoe nectar as do some native bees.

CKagan, Master Gardener

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