Viscum album

Viscum album is a species of mistletoe in the family Santalaceae, commonly

known as European mistletoe, common mistletoe or simply as mistletoe (Old
Viscum album
English mistle).[1] It is native to Europe and western and southernAsia.

Viscum album is a hemiparasite on several species of trees, from which it draws

water and nutrients. It has a significant role in European mythology, legends, and
customs. In modern times, it is commonly featured in Christmas decoration and
symbology. (V. album is found only rarely in North America, as an introduced
species; its cultural roles are usually fulfilled by the similar native species
Phoradendron leucarpum.)

Contents
Description
Classification
Subspecies
Viscum album growing on a Populus
species
Toxicity
Culture, folklore and mythology Scientific classification
Celtic world
Kingdom: Plantae
Scandinavia
Ancient Greece and Rome Clade: Angiosperms
Christianity
Clade: Eudicots
Local symbol
Popular culture Order: Santalales
Uses Family: Santalaceae
Flavoring
Alternative medicine Genus: Viscum
Bird trapping
Species: V. album
Gallery
Binomial name
See also
References Viscum album
Further reading L.

Description
It is a hemi-parasitic shrub, which grows on the stems of other trees. It has stems 30–100 centimetres (12–39 in) long with
dichotomous branching. The leaves are in opposite pairs, strap-shaped, entire, leathery textured, 2–8 centimetres (0.79–3.15 in) long,
0.8–2.5 centimetres (0.31–0.98 in) broad and are a yellowish-green in colour. This species is dioecious and the insect-pollinated
flowers are inconspicuous, yellowish-green, 2–3 millimetres (0.079–0.118 in) diameter. The fruit is a white or yellow berry
containing one (very rarely several)seed embedded in the very sticky, glutinous fruit pulp.

It is commonly found in the crowns of broad-leaved trees, particularlyapple, lime (linden), hawthorn and poplar.[2]
Classification
The mistletoe was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus. Its species name is the Latin adjective albus "white". It
and the other members of the genus Viscum were originally classified in the mistletoe family Viscaceae, but this family has since
been sunk into the larger family Santalaceae.

Subspecies
Several subspecies are commonly accepted.[3][4][5][6] They differ in fruit colour, leaf shape and size, and most obviously in the host
trees utilised.

Viscum album subsp. abietis (Wiesb.) Abromeit. Central Europe. Fruit white; leaves up to 8 centimetres (3.1 in). On
Abies.
Viscum album subsp. album. Europe, southwest Asia east to Nepal. Fruit white; leaves 3–5 centimetres (1.2–2.0 in).
On Malus, Populus, Tilia, and less often on numerous other species, including (rarely)Quercus.
Viscum album subsp. austriacum (Wiesb.) Vollmann. Fruit yellow; leaves 2–4 centimetres (0.79–1.57 in). Central
Europe. On Larix, Pinus, Picea.
Viscum album subsp. meridianum (Danser) D.G.Long. Southeast Asia. Fruit yellow; leaves 3–5 centimetres (1.2–
2.0 in). On Acer, Carpinus, Juglans, Prunus, Sorbus.
Viscum album subsp. creticum has recently been described from easternCrete.[7] Fruit white; leaves short. On
Pinus brutia.
Viscum album subsp. coloratum Kom. is treated by theFlora of China[4] as a distinct species Viscum coloratum
(Kom) Nakai.

Toxicity
[8]
European mistletoe is potentially fatal, in a concentrated form, and people can become seriously ill from eating the berries.

The toxic lectin viscumin has been isolated from Viscum album.[9] Viscumin is a cytotoxic protein (ribosome inactivating protein, or
RIP) that binds to galactose residues of cell surface glycoproteins and may be internalised by endocytosis.[10] Viscumin strongly
inhibits protein synthesis by inactivating the 60 S ribosomal subunit. The structure of this protein is very similar to other RIPs,
showing the most resemblance toricin and abrin.[9][10]

Some birds have immunity to the poison and enjoy the berries, especially the
mistle thrush which is named for its favourite food.

Culture, folklore and mythology

European mistletoe has always attracted popular interest and has been surrounded by a number of myths and legends. In cultures
across pre-Christian Europe, mistletoe was seen as a representation of divine male essence (and thus romance, fertility and vitality). It
still plays a role in the folklore of some countries.

Celtic world
According to Pliny the Elder, the Celts considered it a remedy for barrenness in animals and an antidote to poison, and sacred when
growing on oak trees (where it is rare). He describes a Celtic ritual sacrifice and banquet at which a druid dressed in white would
climb an oak tree to collect mistletoe using a golden sickle.[11] (This legend is often referred to in the popular Asterix comic books,
where the druid Getafix is often seen collecting mistletoe with a sickle.)

Modern druids may use the Native AmericanPhoradendron leucarpum as well as other mistletoe species.[12]

Scandinavia
According to the 13th century Prose Edda, the goddess Frigg had all living and
inanimate things swear an oath not to hurt her son Baldr. At a gathering, other gods
tested the oath by hurling stones, arrows and fire at him, all in vain. But Frigg had
not demanded the oath from mistletoe, because "it seemed too young" for that.[13]
By a scheming of Loki, Baldr's brother, the blind god Höðr made an arrow from
mistletoe and killed Baldr with it.

In the Gesta Danorum version of the story, Baldr and Höðr are rival suitors, and
Höðr kills Baldr with a sword named Mistilteinn (Old Norse "mistletoe"). In
addition, a sword by the same name appears in various other Norse legends.

Ancient Greece and Rome

Mistletoe figured prominently in Greek mythology, and is believed to be the Golden
Bough of Aeneas, ancestor of the Romans.[14] Also in Greek mythology mistletoe
was used by heroes to access the underworld.[15] The Romans associated mistletoe
with peace, love and understanding and hung it over doorways to protect the
household.[16] Hanging mistletoe was part of the festival ofSaturnalia.[17]
Each arrow overshot his head(1902)
by Elmer Boyd Smith, depicting the
Christianity blind god Höðr shooting his brother,
When Christianity became widespread in Europe after the 3rd century AD, the the god Baldr, with a mistletoe arrow
religious or mystical respect for the mistletoe plant was integrated to an extent into
the new religion. In some way that is not presently understood, this may have led to
the widespread custom of kissing under the mistletoe plant during the Christmas
season. The earliest documented case of kissing under the mistletoe dates from 16th
century England, a custom that was apparently very popular at that time.

Winston Graham reports a Cornish tradition that mistletoe was originally a fine tree
from which the wood of the Cross was made, but afterwards it was condemned to
live on only as a parasite.[18]

Mistletoe is commonly used as a Christmas decoration, though such use was rarely
alluded to until the 18th century.[19] According to custom, the mistletoe must not
touch the ground between its cutting and its removal as the last of Christmas greens
at Candlemas. It may remain hanging throughout the year, often to preserve the
house from lightning or fire, until it is replaced the following Christmas Eve.[20][21]
The tradition has spread throughout the English-speaking world, but is largely
unknown in the rest of Europe. (The similar native species Phoradendron leucarpum
is used in North America in lieu of the EuropeanViscum album.)

According to an old Christmas custom, a man and a woman who meet under a
Mistletoe postcard, circa 1900
hanging of mistletoe were obliged to kiss. The custom may be of Scandinavian
origin.[22] It was alluded to as common practice in 1808[23] and described in 1820
by American author Washington Irving in his The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.:

The mistletoe is still hung up in farm-houses and kitchens at Christmas, and the young men have the privilege of
kissing the girls under it, plucking each time a berry from the bush. When the berries are all plucked the privilege
ceases.[24]
In Germany, the Christmas tradition is that people who kiss under mistletoe will have an enduring love or are bound to marry one
another.[25]

Local symbol
[26]
Every year, the UK town of Tenbury Wells holds a mistletoe festival and crowns a 'Mistletoe Queen'.

Mistletoe is the county flower of Herefordshire. It was voted such in 2002 following a poll by the wild plant conservation charity
Plantlife.[27]

Popular culture
In 1988, the British singerCliff Richard released a popular christmas song calledMistletoe
' and Wine'.

Uses

Flavoring
Mistletoe is an ingredient ofpomace brandy based liquor biska made in Istra, Croatia.[28]

Alternative medicine
Mistletoe leaves and young twigs are used by herbalists, and preparations made from them are popular in Europe, especially in
Germany, for attempting to treat circulatory and respiratory system problems.[29][30][31] Use of mistletoe extract in the treatment of
cancer originated withRudolf Steiner, the founder of Anthroposophy.

Although laboratory and animal experiments have suggested that mistletoe extract may affect the immune system and be able to kill
some kinds of cancer cells, there is littleevidence of its benefit to people with cancer.[32][33]

Bird trapping
The sticky juice of mistletoe berries was used to makebirdlime, an adhesive to trap small animals or birds.[34]

Gallery
19th century illustration On an apple tree in On an apple tree in In abundance on an
by Franz Eugen Köhler Essex, England Essex, England apple tree (in Franche-
Comté).

Sticky seed on a branch In Versailles, France Fruit of V. a. album, in V. a. austriacum on

Poland Pinus sylvestris, Poland

Fruit, in Gryfino, NW Viscum album in France, Viscum album in Cross section of wood
Poland. winter Ukraine, spring

See also
Christmas decoration
List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments

References
1. D. Zuber (2004). Biological flora of Central Europe:Viscum album L. Flora 199, 181-203
2. Tree News, Spring/Summer 2005, PublisherFelix Press (http://www.treecouncil.org.uk) Archived (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20161015213351/http://www.treecouncil.org.uk/) October 15, 2016, at theWayback Machine.
3. Flora Europaea: Viscum album (https://archive.is/20121224175252/http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtre
e.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Viscum&SPECIES_XREF=album&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK=)
4. Flora of China: Viscum album (http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=242414826)Archived (htt
ps://web.archive.org/web/20160303193026/http://www .efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=242414826)
March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine.
5. Bean, W. J. (1980). Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles 8th ed. 4: 725-726.ISBN 0-7195-2428-8
 6. Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). The Illustrated Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. Hodder & Stoughton.
ISBN 0-340-40170-2.
7. Böhling, N., Greuter, W., Raus, T., Snogerup, B., Snogerup, S. & Zuber, D. (2003). Notes on the Cretan mistletoe,
Viscum album subsp. creticum subsp. nova Loranthaceae/Viscaceae).
( Israel J. Pl. Sci. 50 (Suppl.): 77-84.
8. Poison Control (https://www.poison.org/articles/2015-dec/mistletoe)
9. Olsnes S, Stirpe F, Sandvig K, Pihl A (November 1982). "Isolation and characterization of viscumin, a toxic lectin
from Viscum album L. (mistletoe)"(http://www.jbc.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=7142144). The Journal of
Biological Chemistry. 257 (22): 13263–70. PMID 7142144 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7142144).
Retrieved 2009-06-22.
10. Stirpe F, Sandvig K, Olsnes S, Pihl A (November 1982). "Action of viscumin, a toxic lectin from mistletoe, on cells in
culture" (http://www.jbc.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=7142145). The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 257
(22): 13271–7. PMID 7142145 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7142145). Retrieved 2009-06-22.
11. Pliny the Elder. Natural History. Book XVI.
12. Taylor, Pat & Tony, The Henge of Keltria Book of Ritual, 4th ed.1997"
13. Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). Edda, pages 48–49. Everyman. ISBN 0-460-87616-3
14. Virgil (19 BCE) The Aeneid
15. The Woodland Trust - Mistletoe: meaning, mythology and magic(https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2015/12/mis
tletoe/)
16. BBC News - Tenbury Wells: Centuries-old romance with mistletoe(https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-
worcester-24987280)
17. The Woodland Trust - Mistletoe: meaning, mythology and magic(https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2015/12/mis
tletoe/)
18. Graham, Winston (2002).Bella Poldark. Macmillan. Chapter 6.
19. Susan Drury, "Customs and Beliefs Associated with Christmas Evergreens: A Preliminary Survey"Folklore 98.2
(1987:194–199) p. 194.
20. Drury 1987.
21. Sydney J. Tanner. There’s more to mistletoe than just a kiss prompter. Chippewa.com. December 10, 2009(https://ar
chive.is/20120709170737/http://chippewa.com/articles/2009/12/14/community/doc4b21261edf7bf288694271.txt)
22. E. Cobham Brewer, Dictionary of Phrase and Fable1898, s.v. "Kissing under the mistletoe" relates thecustom to the
death of Baldr, without authority.
23. In a newspaper advertisement for shaving products:'THE KISS UNDER THE MISSEL TOE. Under the misseltoe the
maid was led/Altho' she cried, No, she held up her head/T
o obtain a kiss: a sigh was heard./The reason why - oTm
rubbed her with his beard'The Times (London, England), 13 October 1808; p.4
24. "Christmas Eve" from Washington Irving, The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent." (Rev. ed. 1852), p.254
(available on Google Books).
25. Zeit - Warum küsst man sich unter dem Mistelzweig? (https://www.zeit.de/wissen/2009-11/adventskalender-mistel)
26. BBC News - Tenbury Wells: Centuries-old romance with mistletoe(https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-
worcester-24987280)
27. Plantlife website County Flowers page (http://www.plantlife.org.uk/wild_plants/county_flowers/) Archived (https://web.
archive.org/web/20150430170312/http://www .plantlife.org.uk/wild_plants/county_flowers/)April 30, 2015, at the
Wayback Machine.
28. Rushby, Kevin (20 August 2016)."Cres, Croatia: island of ghosts and vultures"(https://www.theguardian.com/travel/
2016/aug/20/cres-island-croatia-road-trip). The Guardian. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
29. Ernst E, Schmit K, Steuer-Vogt MK. Mistletoe for cancer? A systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Int J
Cancer 2003;107:262-7, cited in BMJ 2006;333:1293–1294 (23 December) (http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/333/
7582/1293?ijkey=56e55886cc53e0c478801e74001edc3bea1c322e&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha)
30. Drug Digest (http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/PrintablePages/herbMonograph/0,11475,4043,00.html)Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20080719181505/http://www .drugdigest.org/DD/PrintablePages/herbMonograph/0,11475,4043,
00.html) July 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
31. botanical.com – A Modern Herbal | Mistletoe(http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/m/mistle40.html) Archived (h
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20160821231036/http://www .botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/m/mistle40.html)August 21,
2016, at the Wayback Machine.
32. "Questions and Answers About Mistletoe"(http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/patient/mistletoe-pdq
#section/_2). National Cancer Institute. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
33. Horneber MA, Bueschel G, Huber R, Linde K, Rostock M (2008). "Mistletoe therapy in oncology". Cochrane
Database Syst Rev (Systematic review) (2): CD003297.doi:10.1002/14651858.CD003297.pub2(https://doi.org/10.1
002%2F14651858.CD003297.pub2). PMID 18425885 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18425885). "The
review found that there was not enough evidence to reach clear conclusions about the fectsef on any of these
outcomes and it is therefore not clear to what extent the application of mistletoe extracts translates into improved
symptom control, enhanced tumour response or prolonged survival. "
34. Thomas B. Johnson. 1848. The sportsman's cyclopaedia. 940 p.(https://books.google.com/books?id=rL4UAAAA
YA
AJ&pg=PA56&dq=bird+lime&hl=en&ei=Zz0wTL2WGoHGlQem7PXoCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8
&ved=0CFAQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=bird%20lime&f=false) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2014010803223
0/https://books.google.com/books?id=rL4UAAAA
YAAJ&pg=PA56&dq=bird+lime&hl=en&ei=Zz0wTL2WGoHGlQem7
PXoCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CF AQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=bird%20lime&f=false)
January 8, 2014, at theWayback Machine.

Further reading
Flora of Pakistan: Viscum album
Viscum album subsp. creticum
Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening4: 676. ISBN 0-333-47494-5

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