Mistletoe, once mysterious, now mainly decorative

We rarely think of mistletoe until the winter holidays arrive when musicians sing of “Mommy kissing Santa Claus underneath the mistletoe,” and we hear that mistletoe “helps to make the season bright.”

You know the modern custom of kissing under mistletoe. According to Victorian etiquette, male kissers removed one berry for each kiss.

Several mistletoe species are indigenous to the New World. The American type with the widest distribution is found from New Jersey south to Florida and west to Texas. Various species across the United States grow on alder, ash, birch, cottonwood, locust, maple and walnut trees. Others infest only oaks or conifers.

It commonly takes root on tree branches where birds, which love the berries, transport and deposit seeds. Seeds send down a rootlike structure which taps into tissue to secure water and nutrients.

Mistletoe produces its own chlorophyll and is only partly parasitic. Instead, it is a hemiparasite and gets nutrients from a host plant. In the western United States, it is considered a serious pest because it reduces the value of timber. Most healthy trees tolerate some infestations, but individual branches may be stunted or killed.

Plants are evergreen, so they are easily visible in winter when we want to use them in holiday decorations.

Long before modern people ever cherished mistletoe, Vikings considered it mysterious and sacred, and used it to cure certain medical ills. Druids cut it to hang over doorways to ward off evil. Pagan traditions remained even after Christianity took hold, and mistletoe was used as a good luck charm until that belief was forbidden.

Harvesting is not easy since it often is high in a treetop. A traditional way is to shoot it down, or to be able to climb high enough to cut it from a branch. In years long past I recall buying sprigs in December along a local roadside, but don’t know if it still is sold locally.

Certain mistletoe species have small, insect-pollinated flowers; others have showy, large flowers pollinated by birds.

Some mistletoe plants are toxic, though effects usually are not fatal. Use caution, though, especially with small children and animals, as ingestion or chewing may cause ill effects.

Sharon Daniels is a Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener volunteer.