What are mistletoes?

Question

what are mistletoes?

are there mistletoes in every country of the world?

how to recognize them?

for what are they used for?

where do they come from?

why is it said that you have to kiss under a mistletoe? is that true?

any more informations please?

Answer 1

It's a bush.

It's green with red berries.

We have them in the US, not sure where else they grow.

You kiss under the mistletoe at Christmas. You hang some in the doorway. Not sure where the tradition came from.

Answer 2

Mistletoe

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For the Christmas single by Colbie Caillat, see Mistletoe (song).

Mistletoe

European mistletoe attached to a silver birch

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Plantae



Division: Magnoliophyta



Class: Magnoliopsida



Order: Santalales





Families

Santalaceae (Viscaceae)

Loranthaceae

Misodendraceae



Mistletoe is the common name for a group of hemi-parasitic plants in the order Santalales that grow attached to and within the branches of a tree or shrub. Parasitism evolved only nine times in the plant kingdom;[1] of those, the parasitic mistletoe habit has evolved independently five times: Misodendraceae, Loranthaceae, Santalaceae (formerly considered the separate family Eremolepidaceae), and Santalaceae (formerly treated as the separate family Viscaceae). Although Viscaceae and Eremolepidaceae were placed in a broadly-defined Santalaceae by Angiosperm Phylogeny Group 2, they originated independently, according to DNA sequences analysed by Dan Nickrent, Southern Illinois University.

The word 'mistletoe' is of uncertain etymology; it may be related to German Mist, for dung and Tang for branch, but Old English mistel was also used for basil

Answer 3

Mistletoe is a plant and the tradition is that if a girl is caught under a mistletoe she must give a kiss to the boy who claims it, but it has somewhat mutated over the years. Also, obviously you can kiss other places, lol.

Answer 4

Mistletoe is the common name for a group of hemi-parasitic plants in the order Santalales that grow attached to and within the branches of a tree or shrub.

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.[4] A broad array of animals depend on mistletoe for food, consuming the leaves and young shoots, transferring pollen between plants, and dispersing the sticky seeds. The dense evergreen witches' brooms formed by the dwarf mistletoes (Arceuthobium species) of western North America also make excellent locations for roosting and nesting of the Northern Spotted Owls and the Marbled Murrelets. In Australia the Diamond Firetails and Painted Honeyeaters are recorded as nesting in different mistletoes. This behavior is probably far more widespread than currently recognized; more than 240 species of birds that nest in foliage in Australia have been recorded nesting in mistletoe, representing more than 75% of the resident avifauna.

Kissing under mistletoe at Christmas

According to a custom of Christmas cheer, any two people who meet under a hanging of mistletoe are obliged to kiss. The custom is Scandinavian in origin.

Answer 5

This site should give you more than enough info about mistletoes:

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

Muah!  ; )

Answer 6

Mistletoe is the common name for a group of hemi-parasitic plants in the order Santalales that grow attached to and within the branches of a tree or shrub. Parasitism evolved only nine times in the plant kingdom;[1] of those, the parasitic mistletoe habit has evolved independently five times: Misodendraceae, Loranthaceae, Santalaceae (formerly considered the separate family Eremolepidaceae), and Santalaceae (formerly treated as the separate family Viscaceae). Although Viscaceae and Eremolepidaceae were placed in a broadly-defined Santalaceae by Angiosperm Phylogeny Group 2, they originated independently, according to DNA sequences analysed by Dan Nickrent, Southern Illinois University.

The word 'mistletoe' is of uncertain etymology; it may be related to German Mist, for dung and Tang for branch, but Old English mistel was also used for basil.

European mistletoe, Viscum album, figured prominently in Greek mythology, and is believed to be The Golden Bough of Aeneas, ancestor of the Romans.[6] The Norse god Baldur was killed with a spear made of mistletoe.[7]

Mistletoe bears fruit at the time of the Winter Solstice, the birth of the new year, and may have been used in solstitial rites in Druidic Britain as a symbol of immortality. In Celtic mythology and in druid rituals, it was considered a remedy for barrenness in animals and an antidote to poison[8], although the fruits of many mistletoes are actually poisonous if ingested as they contain viscotoxins.

An old Christian tradition said that mistletoe was once a tree and furnished the wood of the Cross. After the Crucifixion, the plant shriveled and became dwarfed to a parasitic vine.[2]

In Romanian traditions, mistletoe (vâsc in Romanian) is considered a source of good fortune. The medical and the supposed magical properties of the plant are still used, especially in rural areas.

A popular myth says that the Mistletoe was cut with a gold sickle and it lost its power if it fell and touched the ground. This is a confusion with the Holly 'holy' Tree, the most sacred tree of the druids (after the Oak) due to both plants being green all year, having colorful fruits and sharing similar history of winter months.[citation needed] Getafix, the druid in the Asterix comics was often seen up trees collecting Mistletoe, and it was alluded to be an ingredient in his magic potion.

Mistletoe has sometimes been nicknamed the vampire plant because it can probe beneath the tree bark to drain water and minerals, enabling it to survive during a drought.[citation needed] William Shakespeare gives it an unflattering reference in Titus Andronicus, Act II, Scene I: "Overcome with moss and baleful mistletoe".