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:
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!