Mistletoe (Viscum album)

What does mistletoe look like?

Mistletoe is a small semi-parasitic evergreen shrub which forms large spherical balls up to 1cm wide in the tops of trees. Mistletoe leaves, stems and berries are all poisonous.

Leaves: oval, evergreen leaves which grow in pairs.

Flowers: its small, white flowers are made up of four tiny petals and form in clusters of three to five. Mistletoe is dioecious meaning male and female flowers are produced on separate plants.

Fruit: a waxy, white berry which grows in clusters of two to six. The seeds inside are coated in a sticky substance which sticks to the beaks of birds feeding on the fruit.

They either wipe the substance off on a branch, or eat it and excrete it on trees in their droppings. The gluey pulp around the seed hardens and fastens the seed in place. As the new mistletoe plant grows, the roots penetrate the bark and start to take water and nutrients from the tree.

Value to wildlife

White berries don’t tend to be sought out by birds as they usually prefer berries in brighter colours. However, some will eat white berries and they are an important winter food source for birds such as the mistle thrush. For winter visitors like redwings and fieldfares, they are a welcome resource.

Six species of insect are specialist mistletoe feeders, including the rare mistletoe marble moth (Celypha woodiana) and mistletoe weevil (Ixapion variegatum).

Mythology and symbolism

In Greek mythology, heroes were granted passage to the underworld with mistletoe. For Druidic societies, the plant was believed to give protection against evil and act as a cure for disease, and right through to the Middle Ages it had an association with fertility and vitality. Pagan societies thought it represented the divine male essence.