Mistletoe

This holiday season, while the rest of the world is enchanted with the melodious holiday sensation of Justin Bieber's "Under the Mistletoe", we horticulturists and landscape enthusiasts are quite taken by the real thing...mistletoe, the semi-parasitic plant that adorns our native oak and apple trees. It's present year round, but it is only now that we take notice since our oaks have become bare for the winter.  And since most of us have been incorporating mistletoe into our decorations for longer than the bieb has been alive, I thought it only appropriate to give a little insight into it.

I captured an image of this little guy on one of the apple trees in our orchard last week:

 

Mistletoe belongs to one of five genera. The two most common are:  Phoradendron, which lives on deciduous trees or Arceuthobium, which thrive on our conifers. Within the Phoradendron genus the USDA/NRCS plant database identifies 24 different species. Our common Christmas mistletoe is commonly called "Oak Mistletoe" or scientifically called Phoradendron flavescens or Phoradendron serotinum or Phoradendron leucarpum. You can see where it grows in the map below:

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PHLE14

When I say thrive on a particular tree, mistletoe does just that. It thrives on the nutrients provided by trees, but since it is semi-parasitic, it is also photosynthetic (it makes its' own food). Most of the time, the host tree is not harmed by the mistletoe. If it died, the mistletoe would also die. Mistletoe arrives on its' host with the help of birds. It actually germinates through seeds dropped off by the bird's... well you know. This is why we see it in the tops of trees. One article I read even mentioned that this is where mistletoe gets its' name. Apparently, "mistle" is the anglo-saxon word for dung and "tan" is the word for tree, so mistletoe = "dung on a tree". (http://landscaping.about.com/cs/winterlandscaping1/a/mistletoe_3.htm.)

Still want to kiss under the mistletoe after learning that? As it turns out, there are many myths and legends that are associated with mistletoe. Many stemming from Norse, Druid & Roman mythologies. All seem to have the same underlining meaning: that mistletoe is a symbol of fertility, love & peace and provides protection from evil spirits. Who would have thought that such a small plant could symbolize so much? The act of actually smooching under the mistletoe comes from the Norse mythology.

 gvc0914.gvc09.virtualclassroom.org 

According to this folklore, Balder, the god of the summer sun had a dream that he was going to die. His mother, Frigga, the goddess of love and beauty, was frantic about his dream and said that if he died, everything on Earth would die. To ensure her son's safety, Frigga went to all of the elements -- air, fire, water and earth, as well as to all of the animals and plants -- and asked them not to kill Balder. Loki, Balder's enemy found a loophole in Frigga's request -- mistletoe. Mistletoe grows on the tree it attaches itself to, and therefore has no roots of its own and could not be affected by Frigga's request. He then tricked Balder's brother into shooting him with a poison mistletoe dart.

For three days, all the elements tried their hardest to bring Balder back to life, but failed. Finally, the tears that Frigga cried for her dead son changed the red mistletoe berries to white, raising Balder from the dead. Frigga then reversed mistletoe's bad reputation, and kissed everyone who walked underneath it out of gratitude for getting her son back. [source: Suszynski].  

  Since Frigga was the goddess of love, couples have been kissing under the mistletoe in hopes of good luck for the next year. Mistletoe is also an aphrodisiac. And for all of you etiquette rangers out there, the proper technique is for the man to remove the berry from the mistletoe then kiss his significant other.

But whatever you do, don't eat it; most parts are poisonous to humans. 

If you're thinking of incorporating the real thing into your decor this holiday, it may be a bit tricky. Obtaining mistletoe often involves shooting it down from a tree. I would not recommend this in a neighborhood setting or if you are simply a bad shot. My first attempt at shooting mistletoe down proved quite a challenge. As it turns out, the branch, on which the mistletoe was growing, was too large for just a .22 caliber, I (with my Southern roots ablaze) grabbed one of our deer rifles to handle the task. Needless to say, mistletoe adorned every corner of my apartment in Auburn that Christmas season, and part of my Oak tree is still missing.

 

So this year, as you're driving to your holiday destinations secretly or un-apologetically jamming to "Under the Mistletoe", take note of the green balls scattered throughout our trees alongside the highways and interstates. This peculiar little plant, full of history and myth, is one of the great joys and traditions of our holiday season. 

Oh, and mistletoe is the state floral emblem of Oklahoma....just fyi.

Sources: 

Suszynski, Barbara, and Sam Abramson.  "How Mistletoe Works"  11 December 2000.  HowStuffWorks.com. <http://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/holidays/mistletoe.htm>  14 December 2011.