Mistletoe got its name in the second century
from the Anglo Saxon Mistle (=dung) and Tan (=twig). It is a parasitic
plant of trees, particularly hardwoods like oak and apple, and it is
easy to spot in winter because its leaves stay green all year round.
The latin name Viscum album refers to the berries which are white (album)
and these contain a sticky viscous fluid (Viscum). It spreads via birds,
especially flocks of winter thrushes, who eat the berries and in turn
deposit their seed-rich droppings as they move from tree to tree. The
birds also help spread the seed by wiping their beaks on the tree bark
to clean off the sticky seeds after they've eaten.
Mistletoe is familiar to everyone at Christmas time,
but it also has a history deeply embedded in ancient lore. The Druids
believed that it could perform miracles, from providing fertility to
humans and animals to healing diseases and protecting people from witchcraft.
They would cut mistletoe off oak trees in a special ceremony following
the winter solstice. Priests gave out the mistletoe sprigs to the people,
who believed they would then be kept safe from evil spirits and storms.
They also saw it as a sexual symbol, because of the consistency and
color of the berry juice.
So, why do we kiss under the mistletoe? This tradition could have come
from either the Viking association of the plant with Frigga, the goddess
of love, or from the ancient belief that mistletoe enhances fertility.
The correct mistletoe etiquette is for a man to remove one berry when
he kisses a woman. When all the berries are gone, there is no more kissing
underneath that plant. It is believed that an unmarried woman not kissed
under the mistletoe will remain single for another year.
Mistletoe also has reputed medicinal powers and these
can be traced back to the fifth century BC. It has been used to treat
hypertension and osteoarthritis. Together with blackthorn it was used
to strengthen the "tired", weakened heart. It was also used
for attacks of dizziness, epileptic states and as an ointment for sores
and festering wounds. More recently, laboratory studies have suggested
that mistletoe may enhance the activity of the immune system so that
it releases more of the chemicals that damage cancer cells. But, is
also a poison and eating mistletoe can cause severe stomach cramps and
diahorraea, and in some cases can be fatal.
So, mistletoe is valuable to us for many reasons: it
provides the opportunity for a ‘snog’ at Christmas, it’s
a traditional, but diminishing part of the countryside, it’s berries
help birds survive the winters when other food is scarce and it may
prove to be a very important medicine
If you have lots of mistletoe on your land or in your
area, your local Authority ecologist would like to know. And, if you
would like to know more about how to protect mistletoe, Gwent Wildlife
Trust or your local authority biodiversity officer can provide you with
a leaflet that covers all the facts.
Mistletoe fact sheet
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