Mistletoe

Published
by
Cory Ritterbusch
on December 20, 2009
in Blog and seasonal
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Mistletoe (Viscum album)

Mistletoe (Viscum album)

Nat King Cole told us “Everybody knows that turkey and some Mistletoe - Help to make the season bright.”  But, did you know that Misteltoe is a dioecious hemi-parasitic plant that can be detrimental to Spruce trees… Here is some intersting information about one of the holidays’ most celebrated plants.
Mistletoe, as a plant, has uses that date back thousands of years. The word ‘mistletoe’ is of uncertain etymology; it may be related to the German Mist, for dung and Tang for branch, since mistletoe can be spread via feces of birds moving from tree to tree. Therefore, mistletoe means dung-on-a-twig. Most mistletoe plants grow on the trunk, branches, and limbs of trees. It is believed to have magical properties. In fact, even today mistletoe is thought to be one of the most sacred plants on earth.
Mistletoe belongs to a large plant family that can be found world wide and is especially interesting botanically because it is a partial parasite. As a parasitic plant, it grows on the branches or trunk of a tree and actually sends out roots that penetrate into the tree and take up water and nutrients. That means as it grows it takes its nutrition from another, separate, plant.  It is only a partial parasite because it still produces its own food from photosynthesis, which you can tell from it having green leaves.
Mistletoe forming a "Witches Broom"

Mistletoe forming a "Witches Broom"

Mistletoe was often considered a pest that kills trees and devalues natural habitats, but was recently recognized as an ecological keystone species, an organism that has a disproportionately pervasive influence over its community. A broad array of animals depend on mistletoe for food, consuming the leaves and young shoots, transferring pollen between plants, and dispersing the sticky seeds. The dense evergreen witches’ brooms  are formed by the dwarf mistletoes (Arceuthobium spp).

There are two types of mistletoe used at Christmas. The mistletoe that is commonly used as a Christmas decoration, Phoradendron flavescens, is native to North America and grows as a parasite on trees from New Jersey to Florida. The other type of mistletoe,Viscum album, is of European origin.

The Greeks and earlier peoples thought that it had mystical powers and down through the centuries it became associated with many folklore customs. The traditions which began with the European mistletoe were transferred to the similar American plant during immigration and settlement. The U.S. has a thriving mistletoe growers association. Much of the commercial mistletoe that we see bagged for sale at Christmas is Phoradendron flavescens. Most of it is grown in apple orchards, where the plant receives the filtered sunlight it needs. Growers call the plant “a vine,” not a parasite. There’s American capitalism and advertising at work…

There is a species native to the Midwest, only growing a few centimeters long. It is the dwarf mistletoe, Arceuthobium pusillum, and grows in the northern swamps of Wisconsin on black spruce, white spruce, and tamarack. The dense evergreen witches’ brooms formed by the dwarf mistletoes  of North America also make excellent locations for roosting and nesting of the Northern Spotted Owls and the Marbled Murrelets.

From the earliest times mistletoe has been one of the most magical, mysterious, and sacred plants of European folklore. It was considered a bestower of life and fertility, a protectant against poison, and an aphrodisiac.

Some of the folklore surrounding Mistletoe include:

  • Medicines made from mistletoe have been used for centuries to combat disorders such as epilepsy, treating circulatory and respiratory system problems. It has also been used as a fertility drug, and antispasmodic agent.
  • Use of mistletoe extract in the treatment of cancer originated with Rudolph Steiner.  Today, Mistletoe extract is sold as Iscador, Helixor, and several other trade names.
  • Public interest in the United States was spurred in 2001 following actress Suzanne Somers’ decision to use Iscador in lieu of chemotherapy following her treatment for breast cancer.
  • Mistletoe stays evergreen even when the its tree host is dead. Because of that, one of the stigmas associated with mistletoe is its “fertility” properties.
  • It was hung over doorways as protection against evil.
  • It was believed that the mistletoe could extinguish fire. This was associated with an earlier belief that the mistletoe itself could come to the tree during a flash of lightning.
  • In parts of England and Wales farmers would give mistletoe to the first cow that calved in the New Year. This was thought to bring good luck to the entire herd.
  • Kissing under the mistletoe is first found associated with the Greek festival of Saturnalia and later with primitive marriage rites. Mistletoe was believed to have the power of bestowing fertility, and the dung from which the mistletoe was thought to arise was also said to have “life-giving” power.
  • In Scandinavia, mistletoe was considered a plant of peace, under which enemies could declare a truce or warring spouses kiss and make-up.
  • In some parts of England the Christmas mistletoe is burned on the twelfth night lest all the boys and girls who have kissed under it never marry.
  • The Norse god Baldr was killed with mistletoe.
  • According to a custom of Christmas cheer, any two people who meet under a hanging of mistletoe are obliged to kiss. The custom is of Scandinavian origin.

 

 

*If you find yourself smooching under Mistletoe this holiday please dont bore your partner with this information.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everyone!

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