I grew up in So. Tex where mistletoe was prevalent in mesquite trees. I have seen it in some other kinds of trees, but not in abundance. It is a parasite and will kill the host tree if left to spread. We had a tree inside the pasture in front of our house. It was pretty when I was a kid, but when I was last home in the early 2000's it was all but dead. It was the only tree that had so much in it on our place. My parents and one sister are gone now, but my younger sister still lives in the area and I have moved to SW Iowa to be with my only child and grandchildren and am now at least a 1,000 miles from the old home place. I lived 53 years in Oklahoma and my next door neighbor got several bunches of mistletoe in an ornamental tree (just a few years old) and it had at least 3 bunches in it before it was cut down by new neighbors.

If I'm not mistaking, there was a time that the mistletoe that we used to pick for our holiday cheer was once so over collected that it became scarce and then artificial flowers became popular and so there was no more profit to be made. There are many species of mistletoe, about 1300 world wide. The last I heard about the state of mistletoe was that it is considered an endangered species in NJ, USA, and can not be gathered except when it is on your private property. I don't know about other states.

The tradition is to shoot it out of trees with a shot gun. That may be another reason why it has become scarce.

Hope this is just enough info for you. Mistletoe is a very interesting plant. Many animals eat it and nest in it when the plants become big enough.

peace

@ sewingsuz, post #15, Mistletoe is a parasite, not a fungus, just to keep the knowledge we are learning correct.

I do also think that being poisonous could be one other reason stores stopped selling it. The berries are easily popped off the plant and into tiny mouths.

peace and kisses to all.

Well, when I was little I ate a couple of the berries. I don't remember being about to die. LOL My cousin told my aunt I ate some hoping to get me in trouble. I don't remember a fuss being made of it. It grows in the oak trees here. Sometimes DH will bring home a branch of it when he goes hunting.

We just paid big $$ to have it removed from our Raywood Ash trees (4) in California. It is spread by the birds, they eat the berries from one tree and poop on other trees. Our neighbor had his trees pruned last year to remove the mistletoe from his trees. You can't totally remove it from a branch, you have to cut the branch off. My brother worked for the city of Sacramento taking care of their trees.

I just read a quip about mistletoe today.
"What is this strange tradition of kissing under a poisonous plant?" When you think about it that way......

Found out there are several kinds of mistletoe. Some are very toxic, some are not. Usually cats are the ones that will eat it.

Why do we kiss under the mistletoe?
Blame the Greeks and ancient history, natch. :)
http://www.history.com/news/ask-hist...-the-mistletoe

It is a a parasite and the birds carry it from tree to tree. It is a protected species in Oklahoma so once it starts in a tree you cannot get rid of it. It eventually sucks the life out of the tree.

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*** It is still in our Oak trees in the South.
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*** Thanks to the birds for spreading it.
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