Mistletoe in America - Introduction
| These pages are largely about North America - there is some info on South American mistletoes on the Rest of the World pages.
Christmas kissing tradition became established in North America from the 19th century onwards, and it is now a very popular part of the American Christmas. |
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Christmas mistletoe in North America is usually provided by one of the Phoradendron species - particularly species related to P. serotinum or P. flavescens. Like the European Viscum album, these are evergreen with white berries, but they differ in their leaf shape, branching pattern etc. |
The differing species on each side of the Atlantic can sometimes cause confusion, and the properties of one species is sometimes attributed to the other. |
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It is important to understand that the medicinal properties of mistletoe are derived from the European species. The American Phoradendron species can be highly toxic and should never be used in the same way as Viscum album. |
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Popular mistletoe imagery also confuses the two types of mistletoe - Christmas cards often show long thin viscum-like leaves with groups of berries in phoradendron-like bunches. And plastic mistletoe, increasingly popular in the UK as a substitute, is usually modelled on the American species |
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