DECEMBER, 1971 50c - Desert Magazine of the Southwest

ONCE UPON a time a maiden who
wished to know her lot in marriage
would spread a white cloth beneath an
oak tree at night, and in the morning
she might find a little golden dust. A
pinch of this dust placed beneath her
pillow would create dreams of the face
of her future husband. The dust was
the pollen of the mistletoe.
It isn't known how many young ladies
still practice this old custom, but there
are few plants that can boast of such a
checkered past as Phoradendron villosum.
Since the beginning of history, its dull
green leaves and white berries have been
regarded as a symbol of love, friendship
and good luck.
In Sweden, mistletoe is tacked over
barn doors much the same as Westerners
hang up a horseshoe, while in rural Ireland,
a spray is placed in the crib of a
new-born babe to keep it from being
changed into an elf-bairn by the fairies.
Closer to home, hunters in this country
often wear a bit of mistletoe tucked in
their caps for good luck.
For the more scientific-minded, mistletoe
is a woody parasite growing chiefly
on oaks, and forming bushy growths up
to four feet in diameter. Although it can
manufacture its own food from the chlorophyll
in its thick, fleshy leaves, it depends
upon its host for minerals and
water. When the host dies, the mistletoe,
although it will remain bright and healthy
to the end, will die too.
Mistletoe reproduces by its sticky seeds
which are spread from tree to tree by
birds. Although it is easily germinated,
propagation is on a strictly hit or miss
basis, for it will only remain growing on
the same type of host as on which the
mother plant grew. A seed from mistletoe
growing on an oak might germinate
on an apple branch, but it will usually
die within a few months.
The European species of mistletoe,
and actually the only true "kissin' kind,"
goes by the name of Visctim album,
while that in North America is either
Phoradendron villosum, found on oaks;
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SftNTft'i L0YE
or macrophylliim, a river-bottom variety
that grows on willows and poplars. A
third variety and one that annually
causes millions of dollars in damage to
timber, is dwarf mistletoe, Arcenthobium
pusillum, a small, yellow plant with
needle-like leaves that attacks evergreens.
Control of mistletoe is best accomplished
by cutting off the infected limb.
However, the cuts must be made at least
Although mistletoe is a source of fun and
love for people during the Christmas Holidays,
it is actually a parasite which kills trees
such as the oak (below) and the ironwood
(right) by sapping minerals and water.
a foot beyond the edge of the growing
plant or a new growth will start again
from its highly specialized root structure.
Because such severe pruning often
ruins the shape of an ornamental tree,
attempts have been made to kill the pest
by removing the growth and then covering
the limb with black paper. Because
mistleoe needs light to grow, this has
sometimes proved successful.