Mistletoe (Phoradendron obtusissimum)

Description

Phoradendron is a genus of mistletoes, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Americas. The center of diversity is the Amazon rainforest.Traditionally, the genus has been placed in the family Viscaceae, but recent genetic research acknowledged by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group shows this family to be correctly placed within a larger circumscription of the sandalwood family, Santalaceae.They are woody hemi-parasitic shrubs with branches 10-80 cm (3.9-31.5 in) long, which grow on other trees. The foliage is dichotomously branching, with opposite pairs of leaves; these are fairly large, 2-5 cm (0.79-1.97 in) long, green and photosynthetic in some species (e.g. P. leucarpum), but minimal in some others (e.g. P. californicum). Although they are able to photosynthesize the plant relies on its host for some nutrients. The plant draws its mineral and water needs, and some of its energy needs, from the host tree using a haustorium which grows into the stems of the host.The genus name Phoradendron is derived from the Greek for "tree thief".The flowers are inconspicuous, greenish-yellow, 1-3 mm (0.039-0.118 in) diameter. The fruit is a berry, white, yellow, orange, or red when mature, containing several seeds embedded in very sticky juice. The seeds are dispersed when birds eat the fruit and remove the sticky seeds from their bills by wiping them on tree branches where they can germinate.The foliage and berries of some species are toxic. Leafy mistletoes seldom kill but they cause stress reducing crop productions in fruits and nut trees. Wildlife & human uses: Phorodendron species are larval host plants for a number of Lepidoptera. The buckthorn duskywing (Erynnis pacuvius) feeds on Phoradendron californicum. Phoradendron are the preferred food of the Phainopepla, a silky-flycatcher. The male defends territories where fruiting mistletoe is abundant. Phoradendron californicum was used by Native American peoples as a food and medicinal remedy. Some Phoradendron species, such as Phoradendron serotinum and Phoradendron flavescens, are used in North America as Christmas decoration, substituting for the European mistletoe Viscum album. They are harvested commercially for that purpose.