A holiday smooch under the mistletoe is a ritual many folks relate to. Some say that the reason for the practice is that mistletoe provided a sign of life in the dead of winter. That’s how Michelle Fullner’s guest, Joshua Der talks about mistletoe’s popularity as a holiday garnish during her interesting podcast Golden State Naturalist. Der, an associate professor of biology at California State University Fullerton, as well as director of the McFadden herbarium, reported that mistletoe is related to a distant descendant of sandalwood. The species Phoradendron leucarpumis is native to the United States and Mexico. It was once believed by forest managers that mistletoe needed to be removed in order to secure a tree’s health. Foresters are finding that mistletoe plays a significant part ecologically, and because it benefits pollinators, birds, and other animals, it should be left alone.
Dense branches of mistletoe allow birds like hummingbirds and others to nest or rest in the thick greenery. Around ninety bird species dine on the berries, which are loaded with minerals, glucose, and more. Dietary needs are met by mistletoe leaves when deer, porcupines, certain caterpillars, and butterflies dine upon them. Smithsonian Magazine explains that even though mistletoe is a parasite, its good outweighs the bad since the plant provides homes, food, and even hunting grounds for myriad species. In addition, when the plant drops from its host, nutrients are provided to the forest floor.
Mistletoe, with its thick, leathery leaves, is like other plants in that it employs sunlight to create its food, or photosynthesis. But it can switch modes to sneak needed nutrients and water from host plants where it takes root, making it a mostly heterotrophic plant.
An array of mistletoe species can be found worldwide. There are over 1,300 species across the planet, with around 20 that are endangered. Mistletoe, which can have pink, red, or white berries, depending on the species, is a food source for insects, and in another of Michelle Fullner’s podcasts, when she hosted Dave Wyatt, an expert on the Sutter Buttes, a significant food source for ringtails, and animal related to the raccoon.
The US Geological Survey’s website tells us that mistletoe’s moniker can be deciphered as ‘dung on a twig’ since the Anglo-Saxon word for dung is ‘Mistel’, and the word for twig is ‘tan’. Bird droppings that contain a mistletoe seed left on the tree’s twigs near the host tree’s bud start the plant growing. It also employs a surprising system of mechanical tension and water pressure to allow the seeds to shoot out and is known as ballistic dispersal.
Mistletoe’s specialty in the forest is amazing. Myths and legends revolving around the plant abound. You may want to attend a mistletoe festival in Tenbury Wells, in the UK to observe the crowning of the Mistletoe Queen. You may associate mistletoe with the holidays, or think of it in terms of how different cultures have found it relevant over time. I like the Roman’s association with the hardy plant which was to suspend some over the entryway to guard your family, promote understanding, and add peace and love.
