MISTLETOE
Since ancient times, mistletoe, the strange, green parasitic plant that attaches itself to certain trees, has been viewed with fascination.
A sprig of mistletoe was the famed “golden bough” associated with the world of the dead in Virgil’s epic poem “Aeneid.” In primitive times, death’s opposites were believed to be sex and fertility, and mistletoe stood for those, too. Today’s custom of exchanging kisses under the mistletoe at Christmastime originated from these ancient beliefs.
The Druids declared mistletoe sacred because, in their view, it defied nature by living its life high in the branches of trees, never descending to earth where a plant should be. That mistletoe appeared to spring from nowhere made it appear even more mysterious.
Today, it is known that mistletoe is spread by birds flying from tree to tree, depositing the plant’s seeds, which are covered with a sticky substance.
Centuries ago, mistletoe was hung in homes to drive away witchcraft, disease, bad luck and other ills, rather than as a holiday decoration. American mistletoe also has been used in folk medicine as a sedative and an anti-hypertensive.
There are 450 species of mistletoe. Only two grow in Southern California. Bigleaf mistletoe (Phoradendron tomentosum) , a plant with a brittle woody stem and thick, fleshy oval leaves, can be found on sycamore, California walnut and poplar trees.
The other local variety, hairy mistletoe (Phoradendron villosum) , has leaves covered with dense soft hairs. It grows on oaks.
Shown here is bigleaf mistletoe on a sycamore tree in Placerita Canyon Nature Center in Newhall. Upon close examination, mistletoe clumps can be seen among the leaves on branches in the tree’s top.
Small, greenish inconspicuous flowers that lack petals bloom from December to March on bigleaf mistletoe. The plant bears a small white berry less than inch in diameter. The plant’s branched stems are swollen at the joints.
Mistletoe absorbs food from the sap of its host trees. Phoradendron is Greek for “tree thief.”
