Mother's Herbs Garden

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Actually, although too thick a growth can kill the host tree, Viscum album (European mistletoe) or Phoradendron flavescens (one of the species prevalent in the U.S., and also the state flower of Oklahoma) is only semiparasitic: Once attached, the seed sends its roots into the tree's bark to absorb water, but the herb is soon making its own food through the photosynthesis of its green leaves (which resemble rabbit ears). In fact, mistletoe is so successful at producing nutrients that it's been found to contain twice as much potash and five times as much phosphoric acid as the wood of its "foster parent".

If you rub some of the viscous white berries on a tree branch until they adhere, it's possible to grow mistletoe successfully. Normally, however, the plants are spread by seeds deposited in bird droppings. Indeed, the name mistletoe may derive from "mist" (the old Anglo-Saxon word for dung) and "tan" (meaning twig).

Hippocrates and Pliny recommended the herb for vertigo, epilepsy, and tremors. California Indians chewed the leaves for toothaches and used mistletoe tea to induce abortions. One-half teaspoonful of young, dried stems and leaves to a pint of boiling water is said to have been a traditional folk remedy for nervous disorders, convulsions, hysteria, kidney problems, neuralgia, heart disease, and sterility. (In addition, the herb is currently being tested in conjunction with cancer research.)

However, too large a dose of mistletoe (and the size of such a dose will vary with the species, the part of the plant used, and the person involved) produces an overall loss of sensation and a slow paralysis . . . it can even cause the heart to stop! Eating the berries will result in acute stomach and intestinal pains, diarrhea, weak pulse, mental disturbances, and collapse of the blood vessels. Death can occur within ten hours of ingestion.

So — by all means — hang your holiday love boughs to repel evil and attract kisses . . . but be sure to keep this potentially poisonous herb well away from small children and pets.

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