MEEKS: A little bit about mistletoe
I have always enjoyed hanging mistletoe in the house during Christmas, and watching my husband try and steal a kiss when he catches me under it. While we may find mistletoe to be a pretty Christmas decoration and romantic, our trees have a different thought.
According to Kim Coder, University of Georgia professor of tree health care, the common name for mistletoe is derived from the ancient belief that mistletoe was propagated from bird droppings. It was often observed in ancient times that mistletoe would often appear on a branch or twig where birds had left droppings. The name mistletoe is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning "a twig with bird droppings."
Kind of kills the romance of it doesn't it?
In the South, tiny yellow flowers bloom on mistletoe from fall to winter. A mistletoe plant can be either male or female, but only the female plant has berries. Mistletoe is toxic to humans, but birds' immunity to mistletoe's poisonous qualities is essential to the welfare of the plant. The dispersal and propagation of mistletoe is largely dependent on birds that eat the berries but do not digest the seeds. The seeds are then deposited into the tree tops where a new plant forms.
Mistletoe may be helpful to birds and Christmas decor, but not to trees. Mistletoe is a parasitic perennial plant, deriving all of its water and nutrients from the trees it infects. Since the tree is essential to its survival, mistletoe is only found on living trees. Healthy trees can handle a small mistletoe infestation, but individual branches may become compromised or killed. In heavy infestation, trees may experience reduced vigor, stunting or eventually death.
If you find mistletoe in one of your trees, there are ways you can remove it. Mistletoe can be managed by removing the shoots. This method will not eliminate the mistletoe, but will help keep it from spreading. Tree pruning is a common way of controlling mistletoe. According to Dr. Kim Coder, University of Georgia professor of tree health care, cuts need to be made at the lowest branch node that is 14 inches below the infected site. If the mistletoe is located where pruning is not possible, remove the mistletoe and wrap the area with an opaque plastic. Since the mistletoe requires light, it will die in a few years.
In 1520, William Irving wrote that a young man should pluck a berry each time he kissed a girl beneath the mistletoe.
Merry Christmas!
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This story was originally published January 5, 2016 at 12:50 PM with the headline "MEEKS: A little bit about mistletoe ."