Mistletoe
Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium. The largest family of mistletoes, the Loranthaceae, has 73 genera and over 900 species.
About Mistletoe in brief
Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant. The name mistletoe originally referred to the species Viscum album, which is the only species native to the British Isles and much of Europe. Over the centuries, the term has been broadened to include many other species of parasitic plants with similar habits, found in other parts of the world. The largest family of mistletoes, the Loranthaceae, has 73 genera and over 900 species. Subtropical and tropical climates have markedly more mistle toe species; Australia has 85, of which 71 are in LorAnthaceae, and 14 in Santalaceae. Mistletoe species grow on a wide range of host trees, some of which experience side effects including reduced growth, stunting, and loss of infested outer branches. A heavy infestation may also kill the host tree, but at another extreme other species have vigorous green leaves. The word’mistletoe’ derives from the older form ‘mistle’ adding the Old English word tān. ‘Mistle’ is common Germanic. Further etymology is uncertain, but may be related to the Germanic base for’mash’ Parasitism has evolved at least 12 times among the vascular plants. In some species its contribution to the host’s metabolic balance becomes trivial and the idle parasite may become quite yellow as it grows, having practically given up photosynthesis.
Such a tree may survive for a totally unknown number of years; it resembles it unless one examines it closely, because it does not look like that of any other species. It commonly has two or even four embryos, producing a hypocotyl that grows towards the bark of its host tree under the influence of gravity and potentially influence of the gravity and gravity of the tree. An example of a species that behaves in this manner is Viscuum capense, which germinates on the branch of a host tree and grows in its early stages of its development. It is commonly known that it is independent of its hosts, and has no influence on its development of its growth or development. Some species, such as Viscus minimum, that parasitize succulents, commonly species of Cactaceae or Euphorbiaceae, grow largely within the host, with hardly more than the flower and fruit emerging. In such a case, such a tree is relegated purely to the supply of water and mineral nutrients and physical support of the trunk. Not only do they photosynthesize actively, but a heavyinfestation of mistltoe plants may take over host tree branches, killing practically the entire crown and replacing it with their own growth.
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This page is based on the article Mistletoe published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 31, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
