thehappygardeners.co.uk Mistletoe Common name Mistletoe Botanical name Viscum album A leathery-leaved parasitic plant which grows on apple, oak, and other broadleaf trees and bears white glutinous berries in winter. Germination can be divided into non-parasitic and parasitic phases. In the first the seed extends a green hypocotyl which bends towards the host surface. Once this is contacted it flattens to a sucker-shaped holdfast adhering to the host surface. Once the holdfast is established the parasitic phase begins as the seedling begins to penetrate the host tissue stimulating the growth of a connecting organ or haustorium. The haustorium, which will appear as a swelling where the mistletoe is attached, is a mix of both host and mistletoe woody tissue. You’ll need a lot of berries to be sure of success. You need to time it right – success is much higher in February to March. Mistletoe grows very slowly in the first 4 years – so it’ll be some time before you get a significant plant. But it grows very fast once it’s well-established. After the bird, usually a mistle thrush, eats the berries, theyre excreted with much of their sticky coating still attached. So as soon as they land on a branch they stick, through all weathers, and are ready to germinate in February and March in exactly the right place. The main host plants are apple, hawthorn, lime and poplar trees, although mistletoe is occasionally seen on maple, sycamore, willow, crab apples, false acacia, ash, oak, plum, rowan and even cotoneaster. Try sowing berries on shrubs and trees in the rose family. If mistletoe will grow on apples, rowans and cotoneasters, why not try pears, pyracantha and big old shrub roses? Harvest berries from a tree in March or April. Make sure you choose a tree that is similar to the type of tree in your own garden that you wish to establish the mistletoe on. Discard any crushed berries and do not use berries from sprigs used as Christmas decorations. These will not germinate as they are generally harvested when immature. Choose a branch 10cm (4in) or more in girth on a tree that is 15-years-old or more. Ideally this should be fairly high up, so the developing plant receives plenty of light. Make a shallow cut to create a flap in the bark. Remove the seeds from the fleshy berries and insert them under the bark flap. cover the flap with hessian to protect the seeds from birds. sow quite a few seeds under each flap of bark as only one in ten seeds germinate, and both male and female plants are needed for berries to form. Mistletoe berries are poisonous to cats and other small animals. There is, however, some debate about how toxic the berries are to humans Mistletoe has also been used in folk medicine as a digestive aid, heart tonic, and sedative. It was used to treat arthritis, hysteria and other mental disturbances, amenorrhea, wounds, asthma , bed wetting, infection, and to stimulate glands. The word “mistletoe” is thought to derive from the Anglo-Saxon “mist” or “mistel,” meaning dung, and “tan,” meaning twig, or “dung twig.” This derivation stems from the fact that mistletoe is mostly spread by birds, through their droppings. American mistletoe, the kind most often associated with kissing, is one of 1,300 species of mistletoe worldwide but one of only two that are native to the United States. The other is dwarf mistletoe. Twenty species of mistletoe are endangered, so be careful what you pluck from the forest for your next holiday party. Phoradendron, the scientific name for American mistletoe, means thief of the tree in Greek. Although not a true parasite in scientific terms, mistletoe comes close, sinking its roots into a host tree and leeching nutrients from the tree to supplement its own photosynthesis. Sadly, the translation of the word “mistletoe” itself isnt very romantic. A few centuries back, some people apparently observed that mistletoe tended to take root where birds had left their droppings. “Mistal” is an Anglo-Saxon word that means “dung” and “tan” means “twig,” so mistletoe actually means “dung on a twig.” A time-honored southern tradition for fetching mistletoe out of a tall tree is to blast it down with a shotgun. Let’s hope no one’s kissing under it at the time. In medieval times, mistletoe wasnt just a Christmas decoration, but one perhaps better suited to Halloween: Hung over doors to homes and stables, it was thought to prevent witches and ghosts from entering.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 07:25:04 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015