Mistletoe (Latin: viscum album = sticky (like viscous) and white (like albino) berried.

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Our last speaker of the year, Jonathan Briggs, has been an expert on mistletoe for over 35 years.

 

The SW Midlands is the epicentre of the mistletoe population and it is the County flower of Herefordshire. It is semi-parasitic; it can only survive on a host tree but does photosynthesize for itself. It likes lowland environments with space and air around it (ie not woodland) so orchard, parkland and riverside trees have become ideal hosts: 40% grow on Apple trees, 20% on Lime, 12% on Hawthorn, 10% Poplar.

 

It has proved a useful secondary crop of farmed orchards. In the early 20th Century it was harvested and sold in November and exported across the Empire. By December, vast quantities were imported into Britain from France - who had to cut mistletoe by law to maintain their orchards. Management is essential. If it is not cut back mistletoe will eventually kill the host tree and of course, without its host, die in the process.

 

Evergreen and fruiting in winter, it has long been a symbol of fertility. It appears in Norse mythology (symbol of love and friendship) but its association with Druids might have been made up by Pliny the Elder during Roman occupation. Kissing under the mistletoe only became traditional from the mid 19th Century and is generally an English-speaking tradition. Across Europe it more commonly means good luck.

 

Mistletoe – which is mildly poisonous (extracted it is very poisonous) – appears in old herbals and is still sold as a complementary medicine in Europe. It is advised for epilepsy and high blood pressure.

 

It flowers in February (insect pollinated) and takes nearly 12 months for fruit to develop and ripen. Only the female has berries, with a male plant to fertilize.

Each leaf node grows another 2 leaf nodes each year, which means that year-on-year a clump doubles in size and creates the characteristic spherical appearance. The flower (and then berry) always grows at the fork of the leaf node (terminal bud).

 

Germination is best in Feb/Mar when the berries become virtually transparent. It is our only native white-berried shrub. As most birds don't eat white berries its spread is limited to the Mistle Thrush and latterly, over-wintering Black Caps. Thrushes spread the seed via their excrement whilst Black Caps wipe the very sticky berries (and any remaining seeds) off their beaks on nearby branches.

 

The best way to germinate your own plants is choose a suitable host - mistletoe won't grow on some trees - and just wipe the berry on the bark and mark the spot so you do not accidentally remove it (the seedlings are tiny for the first 1-2 years). Placing under split bark or taping up is not advised.