The History Of Mistletoe...

European mistletoe (Viscum album), the traditional mistletoe of literature and Christmas celebrations, was known for centuries before the Christian era. It is distributed throughout Eurasia from Great Britain to northern Asia. It forms a drooping yellowish evergreen bush, 60–90 cm (2–3 feet) long, on the branch of a host tree. It has thickly crowded forking branches with oval to lance-shaped leathery leaves about 5 cm (2 inches) long, arranged in pairs, each opposite the other on the branch. The flowers, in compact spikes, are bisexual or unisexual and have regular symmetry. They are yellower than the leaves, appear in late winter, and soon give rise to one-seeded white berries, which when ripe are filled with a sticky semitransparent pulp. These berries, and those of other mistletoes, contain toxic compounds poisonous to many animals and to humans. The European mistletoe is most abundant on apple trees, poplars, willows, lindens, and hawthorns. Its North American counterpart, the Eastern, or oak, mistletoe (Phoradendron serotinum), also parasitizes many deciduous trees, including oaks. In some parts of Europe the midsummer gathering of mistletoe is still associated with the burning of bonfires, a remnant of sacrificial ceremonies performed by ancient priests, the Druids. Mistletoe was once believed to have magic powers as well as medicinal properties. Later the custom developed in England (and, still later, in the United States) of kissing under the mistletoe, an action that once was believed to lead inevitably to marriage. Most mistletoes are evergreen and are easy to locate and harvest after their deciduous hosts have lost their leaves in late fall and winter; hence, the plants often are used as festive decorations at Christmastime, especially in the Northern Hemisphere.