MISTLETOE

What is Mistletoe?

Mistletoe ： a parasitic plant with white berries, traditionally used as a Christmas decoration。

資料來源： http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/festivals-christmas.htm

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Mistletoe is especially interesting botanically

because it is a partial parasite (a "hemiparasite").

As a parasitic plant, it grows on the branches or

trunk of a tree and actually sends out roots that

penetrate into the tree and take up nutrients.

But mistletoe is also capable for growing on its own;

like other plants it can produce its own food by

photosynthesis. Mistletoe, however, is more commonly found growing as a parasitic plant.

There are two types of mistletoe. The mistletoe that is commonly used as a Christmas decoration (Phoradendron flavescens) is native to North America and grows as a parasite on trees in the west as also in those growing in a line down the

east from New Jersey to Florida. The other type of mistletoe, Viscum album, is of European origin.

The European mistletoe is a green shrub with small, yellow flowers and white, sticky berries which are considered poisonous. It commonly seen on apple but only rarely on oak trees. The rarer oak mistletoe was greatly venerated by the ancient Celts and Germans and used as a ceremonial plant by early Europeans. The Greeks and earlier peoples thought that it had mystical powers and down through the centuries it became associated with many folklore customs.

資料來源： http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/history/mistletoe.htm

ArticleSitting under the mistletoe(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),One last candle burning low,All the sleepy dancers gone,Just one candle burning on,Shadows lurking everywhere:Some one came, and kissed me there.Tired I was; my head would goNodding under the mistletoe(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),No footsteps came, no voice, but only,Just as I sat there, sleepy, lonely,Stooped in the still and shadowy airLips unseen—and kissed me there.

by Walter de la Mare (1913)

坐在槲寄生下（淺綠色，神仙槲寄生），最後一個蠟燭燃燒低，所有的困乏舞者消失了，只是一支蠟燭燃燒時，潛伏的陰影無處不在：一些人來，吻著我有時我累了，我的頭會去槲寄生下點頭 （淺綠色，神仙槲寄生），沒有腳步聲傳來，沒有發言權，但只，正如我坐在那裡，困倦，孤獨， 俯身在靜止和神出鬼沒的空氣看不見的嘴唇和吻了我那裡。

資料來源： http://poetry.about.com/library/weekly/bldelamarechristmas.htm about.com

Fun Facts About MistletoeAmerican 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 isn’t 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.”

The growth of mistletoe had little to do with the bird droppings, and a lot to do with the birds themselves. Mistletoe seeds are extremely sticky and often latch onto birds’ beaks or feathers or the fur of other woodland creatures, hitchhiking to a likely host tree before dropping off and starting to germinate.

The dwarf mistletoe doesn’t have to rely solely on hitchhiking to find a host tree. The seeds of the dwarf mistletoe can explode from ripe berries and shoot as far as 50 feet.

Despite its parasitic tendencies, mistletoe has been a natural part of healthy forest ecosystems for millions of years.

Mistletoe is toxic to people, but the berries and leaves provide high- protein food for many animals. Many bird species rely on mistletoe for food and nesting material. Butterflies lay their eggs on the plants and use the nectar as food. Mistletoe is also an important pollen and nectar plant for bees.

資料來源： http://environment.about.com/od/environmentalevents/a/mistletoe.htm

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