Mystic mistletoe has romantic roots

By Barbara Maynard
Correspondent

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Pucker up! Local florists are stocking up on fresh mistletoe for the holidays. Could this decorative Christmas plant with deep green leaves and glistening white berries possibly be related to the scraggly dwarf mistletoes native to Colorado?

Worldwide, more than 1,300 species of shrubby flowering plants fit the name "mistletoe." Appearance varies widely, but all mistletoes are parasites-- they get their water and minerals by sinking their roots not into the ground, but into the flesh of living plants.

Different mistletoe species infect different host plants. The dwarf mistletoes found in Larimer County infect conifers, with ponderosa and lodgepole pines most heavily affected. The white-berried European mistletoe, used as Christmas trimming and properly known as Viscum album to botanists, infects hardwoods like apple and oak trees.

Considering that the word "parasite" is more likely to make people squirm with thoughts of de-worming horses or dogs than to daydream about stealing romantic moments around the holidays, who came up with the notion of sneaking a kiss under the parasitic plant? Like most Christmas traditions, mistletoe was part of pagan rituals long before Christianity swept across Europe. European mistletoe was thought by ancient Celtic Druids to hold the soul of the sacred oak tree--when the oak went brown and leafless in winter, the evergreen mistletoe remained green and alive. The Druids and other Europeans attributed magical and medicinal powers to oak-mistletoe, including the abilities to instill fertility in women and in livestock, to cure epilepsy and to ward off witches. Indeed, its medicinal value was so revered that it earned the name "allheal."

Native Americans held their own ideas about the medicinal qualities of dwarf mistletoes. Quite opposite to the belief that European mistletoe could bring fertility, the Pomo Indians of northern California drank a tea made from dwarf mistletoe to prevent childbirth. Other North American tribes used dwarf mistletoes for everything from treating stomachaches, tuberculosis and rheumatism to endowing women with long, thick hair.

Today, extracts from various mistletoe species are under study for their immune-boosting and anti-cancer activity, but results are far from conclusive. The leaves and berries of Christmas mistletoes are poisonous, so self-medication with mistletoe is not recommended.

As Christianity became the dominant European religion, the revered European mistletoe became part of the Christmas festivities. Mistletoe was hung as decorative holiday greenery; in the 19th century, the tradition of kissing under it gained popularity.

When Europeans came to North America, they found a mistletoe similar in appearance to Viscum album to continue their traditions--the Phoradendron species that grows on hardwood trees. Oklahoma even chose a species of Phoradendron to be its state flower. The species of Phoradendron found in Larimer County doesn't look like the Christmas decoration; instead it resembles its host, juniper trees.

Somehow, the Spartan-looking dwarf mistletoes have never been coveted as desirable Christmas decorations. While the ability of dwarf mistletoe to ruin timber and distort the appearance of host trees might not put foresters in the holiday spirit, birds seem to like the stuff. Studies have found more birds and more diversity of bird species in areas of high dwarf mistletoe infection.

Dwarf mistletoe differs from the Christmas mistletoes in more than appearance. The two groups also have different means of spreading their seeds. Birds eat the white berries of Christmas mistletoes; as the seeds pass through their digestive systems, they are left behind on the branches of new host plants. This method of dispersal may be the origin of the very word "mistletoe," which can be translated as "dung-on-a-twig" in Old English--to peoples of old, the mistletoe appeared to sprout, as if by magic, from bird dung.

In contrast, dwarf mistletoes don't count on animals to spread their berries. Instead, as the dwarf mistletoe fruit dries, it shoots its seed at speeds up to 90 feet per second. With a little luck the rocketed seed will land on a young host plant, ready to infect anew.

Merry Christmas, and watch for would-be suitors lingering under the festive sprig of "dung-on-a-twig!"