Mistletoe - Steal a Kiss, Strangle a Tree

Mistletoe is not a plant most gardeners would want to grow. However it figures prominently in American and European holiday decorating and has some fascinating history. Mistletoe is presently either collected from the wild or semi-cultivated for seasonal use. Mistletoe is best known today for the Christmas tradition of allowing lovers and strangers to kiss without censor if they are standing under a clump of it.

The common Mistletoe of Christmas decorations grows wild throughout Europe and parts of North America. There are related species that grow in South Africa and Australia. Most mistletoes prefer deciduous trees, [those that lose their leaves in the winter], but a few species such as Dwarf Mistletoe, will grow on pines and other conifers.

Mistletoe is a true parasitic plant. When a seed from a mistletoe plant, usually deposited in a bit of fertilizer from a bird, or wiped off a bird’s beak, lands on the trunk of a tree it begins to grow. The seeds germinate best on soft barked trees; they are quite sticky even when birds don’t deposit them. A wide range of host species is used. Some trees such as apple and ash trees seem to be attacked more frequently and others, like Bradford Pear and Ginko are seldom attacked.

Mistletoe sticks a root into the cambium layer of a tree and gets its water and minerals from the tree. The plants thick, shiny green leaves are oval shaped and they do provide some food for the plant, particularly in winter, when the host tree goes dormant. Mistletoe eventually makes a bushy plant, 3-5 foot in diameter hanging from the host tree.

Mistletoe has small whitish flowers that turn into waxy white berries in early winter. The berries hang in clusters at the branch ends. These fruited branch ends are what is collected for Christmas decorations. Mistletoe branches become thick and woody over time and place a considerable burden on the host tree.

The evergreen mistletoe is quite obvious when the trees have lost their leaves in winter.

It greatly weakens its host and often kills it. If a gardener finds mistletoe in a landscape tree it should be cut out. Remove the whole limb if possible. If not, cut the mistletoe stems back to the host trunk and cover the cut area with black plastic. Mistletoe may grow back from the root for several years after being cut out.

Still, mistletoe has it’s place in nature, many birds feed on the berries and take shelter or build nests in it’s bushy mass. Northern Spotted Owls often roost in clumps of mistletoe.

Hairstreak butterfly larvae feed on mistletoe. Mistletoe was the state flower of Oklahoma until 2004.

Mistletoe has a long association with magical or religious rites and herbal medicines.

The druids were said to cut mistletoe from oak trees and bring it inside to bring good luck to the New Year. Mistletoe is never supposed to touch the ground or it will bring bad luck.

Medicinal uses of mistletoe centered on curing nervous disorders, it is often cited as a cure for epilepsy. In Europe mistletoe is currently being studied and used as a cure for some cancers and for respiratory problems.

Another old use for mistletoe was to cure sterility and perhaps that is where the custom of kissing under the mistletoe came about. Good luck and fertility are associated with it. Mistletoe ripens its berries at the time of the winter solstice, when most other things are barren. If a man and woman meet under a hanging clump of mistletoe they are supposed to kiss and then pluck a berry from the cluster. When the berries are gone, the mistletoe is no longer of value.

Be careful with those plucked berries and any mistletoe you bring into the house. Mistletoe berries are poisonous and can cause convulsions in children and pets. Even the foliage is toxic and should be kept out of the reach of children and pets.