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  • From: <eureka AT hctc.net>
  • To: bobford79 AT yahoo.com, homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Plant ID
  • Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:13:01 -0500

Bev, I'm no expert on parasitic plants, but I've never seen a native mistletoe with magenta or red berries. Some of the European ones are that color. I know that generally all mistletoe berries are white and sticky to the touch, as that's how they end up growing on branches, moving around with birds and the wind. Even though there are numerous genera and species, most have evergreen leaves. Here's what wikipedia says:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistletoe

Note the paragraph about ecological importance:
"Mistletoe was often considered a pest that kills trees and devalues natural habitats, but was recently recognized as an ecological keystone species, an organism that has a disproportionately pervasive influence over its community." It is described as a keystone species, something that's covered in Buhners' "Lost Language of Plants". I didn't know it was one, so thanks for giving me the opportunity to look it up!

Methinks your berries are something else.

--Sage




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