Mistletoe is an evergreen plant well-known for its association with oak trees and Druids first documented by Pliny the Elder who wrote about the ceremonies of the Celtic Druids in Gaul in his Naturalis Historia. These Druids held the oak in particular veneration, used oak leaves in their ceremonies, and regarded anything growing on oak trees as having been sent from heaven. On the rare occasions when mistletoe was found growing on an oak, it would be gathered with great ceremony. A priest in white clothing would cut the mistletoe with a golden sickle and allow it to fall onto a white cloak; two white bulls would then be sacrificed. According to Pliny, it was believed that mistletoe in a drink would make any barren animal fertile and that it was a remedy for all poisons. Special powers are attributed to mistletoe by a wide range of cultures, both within Europe and further a field. The use of mistletoe as an all-heal and a cure for barrenness is reputed to have a very ancient history.


Mistletoe seeds disperse in late summer or autumn. Seeds are ??shot? like tiny bullets powered by water pressure from within the fruit. The sticky seeds adhere to needles on nearby branches.....
Seed dispersal distance varies with mistletoe species. Large ponderosa pine mistletoe plants can shoot seeds up to 50 feet and sometimes farther. Tiny Douglas fir mistletoe plants seldom shoot seeds beyond 10 feet. Larch and lodgepole mistletoes shoot seeds up to 30 to 40 feet. Overall, for all species except Douglas fir, most mistletoe seed lands well within 30 feet.



The link between mistletoe and fertility persists to this day in Britain in the tradition of kissing underneath bunches of mistletoe at Christmas. In the early 19th century, it was traditional for each man who kissed under the mistletoe to remove one berry. Once all the berries are gone, so has the potency.