In our Open Space, mistletoe is best seen during the winter when deciduous
oaks lose their leaves. Mistletoe also occurs on some pine trees. The species
of mistletoe on our oaks is Phoradendron villosum.
Mistletoe is a misunderstood plant. Although most
people think of it as a parasite, it is only partially parasitic, or a “semiparasite”.
Note that the stems and leaves of the mistletoe plant are green, thus it
does produce some of its own chlorophyll. Therefore it makes some of its
own food. It becomes more parasitic, however, whenever there is a drought--then
the mistletoe will take water away from its host at the host’s expense. Mistletoe
dies if its host dies.
When you are out in the Open Space, search for mistletoe and other plants,
lichens, and fungi that make their homes in our native trees.
Jerry Fritzke and Bob Brittain
December 2003
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Click
pictures for larger images
Birds propagate mistletoe, either in their droppings
or when sticky white mistletoe seeds adhere to their bills that they wipe
against a new host tree. When the seed sprouts, a modified root (called a
haustorium) penetrates the host’s bark and finds the
cambium layer ao that the newly-formed mistletoe plant can absorb water and
nutrients from the host tree.
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