I love the legend. We had an article in our newspaper last week all about mistletoe. The legend was the best part. You learn something new every day, don't you? i didn't know there were so many different species.
We have it growing in an elm tree at the lake. I had planned to go up there and harvest some. We have homeless guys on every street corner where there's a looooong light (they're smart enough to know we're a captive audience). I thought it would be a Christmasy gesture to bring home mistletoe and cut it into little hanging pieces with red ribbon. 'Give it to the street guys to "give" to people as they wait in long line at the lights. At least they'd be giving something to the drivers, and it might make the drivers want to give them something back. Maybe next year. It's been raining too much to get anything done here...but I'm not complaining!
Enjoyed your article!

Christine: What an informative, educational article. I've seen Mistletoe growing in trees for many years but had never heard about the myths and legends! Thank you for this timely article, I really enjoyed it.

Great article, Christine! I'd still like to know what was chewing on some mistletoe plants last summer during the drought. Out near where I put food and water out for wildlife, there were Mistletoe growing on the live oaks. I'd find pieces of the Mistletoe plants on the ground from time to time...the stems had obviously been chewed on. I'm familiar with a butterfly that uses mistletoe for a host plant, called the Great Purple Hairstreak. And there were no caterpillars around on the plant, so it wasn't that. A pic of that kind of butterfly:

Nice article, Christine. Luv the history and the legend. The common mistletoe here is P. leucarpum. When I first moved here, I thought it was bird nests I could see once the leaves fell, but some of it is the P. leucarpum.

That's interesting, LInda, I didn't know any bfs ate mistletoe. Good to know.

Here's a little known fact: Justin Bieber shot the video for the song "Mistletoe" on his new Christmas album here in TN.

Hi Bubbles, I had my computer off last night because of the thunderstorms we're having here too, but I'm not complaining either!!! I learn something new every day too, often right here!! LOL I like your plan, maybe next year!

Thank you for the pic, Linda! it is such a pretty butterfly! the Cedar waxwing bird also likes the berries. but I know what you mean, I see stuff around here being eaten that I thought nothing wanted! I wonder if the drought drove something to eat it?

Thank you, Lin. Tis the season!

Tee, thank you! I really love legends and all the history too! sure do!! I've heard of Justin Bieber...

Ask any screaming pre-teen girl about Justin B.

Oh... okay, I guess he's like the Ricky Nelson or Leif Garret of my day

I too love the legend of the mistletoe. Funny, my dh has been commenting over & over about a few places we've been seeing in some trees once they lost their leaves. They are always far away but high in the top of them we can see a big green "ball" of foliage. He kept wondering what the heck was going on. Having come from "non mistletoe" area (at least few & far between) we didn't even consider it. Then I read your article & looked up more on mistletoe & that's what we are seeing. Of course, sly dog that I am, I didn't put dh wise to how I knew but just casually let slip to him yesterday when he commented on the green balls of foliage, that, "Oh honey, that's mistletoe".

Good for you Ann! I would have done the same.

I've always found mistletoe fascinating. We have 17 species locally, in 5 genera:

Amyema, Decaisnina, Dendrophthoe, Diplatia and Lysiana.

Some of ours also parasitise other mistletoes - mistletoes on mistletoes.

My favourite of our locals is Decaisnina signata

Pretty!

Very neat, Zig! That is a pretty one. Thank you for sharing. How interesting too, I'm fascinated now!!! ... mistletoe on mistletoe nothing like that going on here that I know of LOL!

Wow! So pretty, Zig!

Zig: Now that's got to be the prettiest Mistletoe I've ever seen ... really beautiful!

The only type of Mistletoe I'm familiar with is a not so interesting or pretty Phoradendron leucarpum which uses the Sugarberry tree in the backyard as it's host.

Wow Lin. Your camera can zoom that far that clearly? Nice camera.

LOL, my camera does have a zoom, but not that powerful! The picture on the right is of another big clump of mistletoe in another tree, on a branch that is hanging much lower!

Ah.

Thanks for such an informative article on mistletoe, Christine.

Your mention of GSDs brought back a favorite childhood memory of mine. A German Shepard appeared at my father's place of business one day with a gunshot wound to his neck. We nursed him back to health, and he became my bosom buddy. On hot summer afternoons he would head for a large, shady asparagus fern patch in our garden where he had dug a hole to expose cooler ground. I would join him, and we would wile the afternoon away together, dozing. Ah, to be young and carefree!

Wonderful shot, Zig. Thanks for posting it.