North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Thomas Olenio <tolenio@sentex.net>]

Hi,

I did learn that mistletoe means "dung on a twig".  Evidently, at one time
people believed that life could spring from manure, and that mistletoe was
the result of bird dung on branches.

They did not realize that the bird droppings contained seeds.

Also, birds wiping the sticky coated berries from their beaks on
the branches of trees (to clean them), also spreads seeds.

I also learned it is a pest of apple in Europe.

Later,
Tom
--


On Mon, 24 Dec 2001, Ginda Fisher wrote:

> There was mistletoe growing on a neighbor's oak.  I'm pretty sure that's
> what killed the tree.  It actually grows roots into the wood of the tree
> and extracts water, sugars, and minerals.  It probably doesn't kill the
> tree unless there are other stresses, but I think it is a serious
> competitor for water, and does a lot of harm during drought.
>
> Other types of mistletoe kill cactuses.  I'm not certain about the one
> on oaks, but the cactus type has berries that are enjoyed by birds,
> which spread the seeds.
>
> Ginda
>
> Tom Olenio wrote:
> >
> > Hi All,
> >
> > Just saw them harvesting mistletoe with shotguns on a TV
> > news snippet.  Never thought much about mistletoe and looked
> > it up.  It is a parasitic shrub that grows at the top of
> > deciduous trees, offering white poisonous berries. (is that
> > close enough for NAFEX discussion) [smile]
> >
> > Have never seen this, or heard it before.  Very curious.
> >
> > How does this plant do it?
> >
> > Later,
> > Tom
> > --
> > Thomas Olenio
> > Ontario, Canada
> > Hardiness Zone 6a
> >
> >
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