Tree of the Week

Many people would be surprised to learn that a familiar symbol of love at Christmas, mistletoe, is actually a parasite to trees such as the Oak and Apple. The mystery of mistletoe can be traced to origins in Celtic and Scandinavian culture which emigrated to America. Transferred by birds through their digestive tracts, mistletoe grows roots into the bark of the tree and draws nutrients, but can also produce its own photosynthetic food through its evergreen leaves. Interestingly, the common name of mistletoe is an Anglo-Saxon derivative of how it is transported, with ?Mistel? meaning ?dung? and ?tan? meaning ?twig,? or ?dung-on-a-twig,?

Mistletoe has pointy, green, leathery leaves, with waxy berries that are either red or white. The plant’s flowers can be a wide variety of colors, from bright red to yellow to green, but takes five years to flower after germinating. Ingesting mistletoe can cause severe stomach cramps and diarrhea, and in some cases can be fatal. Exercise caution this holiday season with pets and children. There are actually two types of mistletoe, with the European variety a green shrub with small, yellow flowers and white berries, also poisonous. Mistletoe extracts have been used for centuries as a cure-all by the Celts and ancient Greeks, but research begun in the 1920?s have indicated that it has cancer curing properties. Mistletoe kills cancer cells in laboratory experiments, boosts the immune system and protects DNA in white blood cells exposed to chemotherapy.

Why the association with Christmas? Because of its curing abilities, people believed that it could also ward off bad omens and spirits, and it was hung in homes, after it was harvested by the Druids on the winter solstice. Since it arose from decay, it was believed to have the power of bestowing life and fertility and couples would kiss under mistletoe invoking these gifts of the plant. For Scandinavians, the goddess of love (Frigga) is strongly associated with mistletoe. This link to romance may be where our tradition of kissing under mistletoe comes from. Correct mistletoe etiquette requires that a man plucks a berry from the plant after kissing the woman, and when the last berry is gone, the plant has lost its influence. For further information, please call Patrick Haller at Quality Trees at 931-261-5885. Merry Christmas!