What is mistletoe. It is a hemiparasite meaning it obtains nourishment from a host and also makes its own food.
Scientific name: Viscum Album, Phoradendron Flavescens
Other names: Common Mistletoe, White Berried-Mistletoe, Bird Lime, All-heal, Devil's Fuge
Mistletoe belongs to the Loranthaceae or Mistletoe family. There are two varieties of mistletoes, the one found in America is Phoradendron flavescens ( originally known as Viscum flavescens) and is the one that is used for Christmas decorations. Mistletoe is associated with the tradition of kissing during yule tide festivities. The plant is a native of the stretch of land from Florida up to New Jersey. The other variety, Viscum album is native to Europe and northern Asia.
Mistletoe is a hemiparasite meaning it obtains nourishment from a host and also makes its own food. They grow on trees and their roots penetrate into the barks of trees to steal the nutrients. The European mistletoe is a green shrub that has small yellow flowers and small white berries. They grow mostly on apple trees and occasionally can be found growing on oak trees. Druids prize the ones that grow on oak trees, attributing them with healing powers.
The name mistletoe is a Germanic diminutive of mihstila, referring to mistletoe being propagated through droppings of missel thrush. The belief was that the plant would magically grow from the dung of these birds left on trees. By the sixteenth century, botanists have discovered that the stickiness of the berries had more to do with how the plant was propagated. The sticky berries would stick to the bills of birds and they in turn rub their beaks on barks of trees to try to get rid of the berries. It was also discovered that seeds survive the passage through the digestive tracts of birds and are excreted together with their droppings. So the seeds would be further propagated this way.
Mistletoe has leathery green leaves that are shaped like long tongues. Its articulated green stems fork and form forked stems each and so on. The small waxy berries contain one seed each and tiny roots can be seen on one end of the berries. This plant contains choline, glycoside, xanthophyll, glucose, inosite, starch, fat oil and saponin.
Medicinal uses: To make a mistletoe tea, place 3-6 grams of the plant in one cup of hot boiling water. Drink to improve blood circulation and heart action. It also helps heal internal bleeding.
