Christmas is upon us once again and in keeping with tradition, we have another festive Species of the
Month. American mistletoe, like its European cousin, is a Christmas symbol dating back to the arrival
of European settlers who brought their customs with them. The mistletoe association with Christmas
dates back hundreds of years before Europeans reached American shores. Learn more about this little
plant below!
Month. American mistletoe, like its European cousin, is a Christmas symbol dating back to the arrival
of European settlers who brought their customs with them. The mistletoe association with Christmas
dates back hundreds of years before Europeans reached American shores. Learn more about this little
plant below!
 |
| American mistletoe |
Scientific name: Phoradendron leucarpum
Kingdom: Plantae (plants)
Class: Magnoliopsida (dicots)
Order: Santalales (hemi-parasitic plants)
Range: Eastern and Southwestern US
Habitat: Forest, swamps, and desert
Diet: Sunlight and water for photosynthesis; xylem and phloem of host plant through parasitism
Predators: Birds and small mammals
Conservation Status: No special protection
 |
| Mistletoe berries |
Other Information: While it may bring good luck to have mistletoe in your home during Christmas, it
certainly isn't lucky to eat the berries. They are poisonous to humans, though not usually fatal. Mistletoe
is hemi-parasitic, meaning it is a parasitic plant but can also photosynthesize. Berries contain a single
seed, which is spread by when birds defecate after eating the berry. The seed is sticky, and with any
luck the bird will be sitting in a tree when it passes. This sequence of events gave mistletoe its name.
"Mistle" the Anglo-Saxon word for dung, and "tan", the word for twig were combined, as folks in
those days noticed mistletoe grew were birds left dung on the branches. Because it seems to grow out
of nothing, mistletoe was thought to have fertility properties. Mistletoe acts as a parasite by growing
a root-like haustorium (your big word of the day) through the host tree's bark and tapping into its sugars
and water. Parasitization can cause the host tree to become deformed or distorted.
This week's pictures and information come from University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse.
certainly isn't lucky to eat the berries. They are poisonous to humans, though not usually fatal. Mistletoe
is hemi-parasitic, meaning it is a parasitic plant but can also photosynthesize. Berries contain a single
seed, which is spread by when birds defecate after eating the berry. The seed is sticky, and with any
luck the bird will be sitting in a tree when it passes. This sequence of events gave mistletoe its name.
"Mistle" the Anglo-Saxon word for dung, and "tan", the word for twig were combined, as folks in
those days noticed mistletoe grew were birds left dung on the branches. Because it seems to grow out
of nothing, mistletoe was thought to have fertility properties. Mistletoe acts as a parasite by growing
a root-like haustorium (your big word of the day) through the host tree's bark and tapping into its sugars
and water. Parasitization can cause the host tree to become deformed or distorted.
 |
| Pine tree with deformations from mistletoe |
This week's pictures and information come from University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse.
No comments:
Post a Comment