Most people associate mistletoe with kissing, as it’s customary for anyone caught standing under a sprig of this plant (often strategically placed in a doorway) to receive a kiss. But did you know that mistletoe, now considered a holiday plant, was used as a religious symbol in pagan rites centuries before the time of Christ? To the ancient Druids of Britain it was a sacred symbol with both magical powers and medicinal properties.

These ancient people believed mistletoe could cure diseases, make animals and humans more fertile, provide protection from witches, and bring good luck. In fact, mistletoe was so sacred to the Druids that if two enemies met beneath a tree on which it was growing, they would lay down their weapons, exchange greetings, and observe a truce until the following day!

When the Druids found mistletoe growing on an oak tree, they used a golden knife to remove it, taking care that the sacred plant did not touch the ground to protect its special powers. They then sacrificed a white ox to consecrate the event.

Mistletoe was not allowed in Christian places of worship for many years because of its widespead acceptance in pagan ceremonies. But it is not clear just how it became part of the holiday season.

Mistletoe is the common name for any one of a hundred species of plants from as far away and diverse climates as Australia, South Africa, and Europe. Our traditional American mistletoe (Phoradenron leucarpum) is very similar to the European species (Viscum album), only with shorter and broader leaves, and more berries (groups of ten or more compared to clusters of two to six berries in Europe). These species are in the Santalaceae family, one of three mistletoe families formerly all under the name Viscaceae.

The common name is said to come from the Anglo-Saxon “Misteltan”, “tan” meaning twig and “mistl” meaning different. This refers to the fact the plant is different from the twigs it grows on. Another version attributes the name to the word “mistel” for dung, referring to the bird droppings of seeds which spread the plant. The Latin name of the genus means “sticky”, and refers to the viscous or sticky juice of the berries.

This slow-growing plant forms a greenish-yellow evergreen shrub that grows two to three feet long, hanging from tree branches. The male and female flowers of the mistletoe are borne on compact spikes on separate plants. The tiny, yellow flowers that appear in late fall soon give rise to the familiar white berries.

Mistletoe will parasitize many hosts, among them apple trees, poplars, lindens, willows, and, more rarely, oaks. A botanical anomaly, it is the only complete plant considered a true parasite for it often kills the hardwood tree it infests. There is even a legend regarding this.