Garden Column for the Salisbury Post

Darrell Blackwelder

December 12, 2003

     Have you ever been kissed under the mistletoe?  This popular Christmas tradition dates from a tradition that started over 3000 years BC among the Druids in Northern England.

   Mistletoe is a parasitic plant feeding mostly on trees all over the world.  This genus has over 700 species with most found in tropical and subtropical regions. Mistletoe grows mainly in hardwoods and is easily found on oaks and maples throughout Rowan County after leaf drop in the fall. The parasite causes little damage to the growth and development of the trees. However, in Europe it is a serious problem on conifers. The parasite weakens the trees allowing disease and insect’s easy access. The plant is able to produce it's much of its own chlorophyll, hence the green color, but derives most of its nutrients from the xylem (water conducting vessels) of the host tree. 

Mistletoe has white, round, translucent berries spread easily by birds throughout the tree. The seeds are coated with a sticky layer allowing the seeds to readily stick to the bark.  The seeds germinate by sending a modified root into the host cambium layer for nutrients. It takes a year or so for the plant to become established on the host tree. Once the roots of the mistletoe are established the evergreen plant grows quickly and is easily identified after leaf drop in the fall. Historical references note that mistletoe not only influenced our modern day Christmas traditions but was also a mystical plant worshipped by the Druids. The plant's stem was used to make magic wands and worn as a necklace to protect the home from werewolves.  Mistletoe was used to decorate the outside of the home, especially the doorway, to protect the home and leading those inside to beautiful dreams as well as a place to exchange a kiss of peace.

     In what is now Germany, early Germanic tribes thought the evergreen contained medicinal properties.  Ironically, mistletoe extracts are used today to ease the side effects of chemotherapy. Extracts are also used to modulate pain and mood in cancer patients. Scientists also use extracts from the plant for breast cancer research, blood circulation, and regulating heart rates. Scientists are studying mistletoe to try and understand how cells from the same and different biological systems "communicate" with each other.

     Those decorating with mistletoe should avoid hanging mistletoe in homes where small children may ingest the fruit. The berries are poisonous causing extreme convulsions however; the leaves are not poisonous.

      Darrell Blackwelder is an agricultural agent in charge of horticulture with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service in Rowan County. For archived garden columns or other information, visit the Rowan County Master Gardener web site at www.rowanmastergardener.com, e-mail Darrell_Blackwelder@ncsu.edu or phone at 704-633-0571.