8. What’s in a name?
The term mistletoe is said to derive from the Old English words for ‘mistal’ meaning dung, and ‘tan’ meaning twig. The American version is from a Greek word, phoradendron, meaning ‘thief of the tree’ for its parasitic propensities.
9. Kill your host, kill yourself.
While mistletoe can deform a tree’s branches and appear unsightly, it doesn’t generally kill the tree. It supplements its nutrition through some photosynthesis and sometimes eastern (American) mistletoe can be found growing on other mistletoe.
10. European or American, how can you tell?
European mistletoe has pairs of oval leaves with smooth edges. White berries grow in dense clusters of two to six. Eastern or American mistletoe has shorter, broader leaves and the berries grow in longer clusters of 10 or more.