But, botanically speaking, that’s what mistletoe is. There are some 1,300 species of this evergreen plant worldwide. They’re all parasitic or semiparasitic, meaning they can survive only on a ...

According to the Leaf & Limb website, mistletoe is a parasitic plant, "meaning that it needs a host tree or shrub in order to thrive." The website adds that mistletoe can cause tree branches to ...

Parasites that cannot survive without a host are known as obligate, while facultative parasites can live and reproduce without a host plant. While mistletoe may be commonly associated with Christmas ...

From these sticky seeds, tendrils will quickly emerge to latch onto the host plant. Farmers and landholders have often viewed the parasite as a pest trying to kill their trees. But mistletoe has ...

For more than two decades, he has been studying how a parasitic plant called dwarf mistletoe is impacting the spruce trees on Monhegan. “His trees were probably 15 or 20 years old when he ...

Nope ― they’re either mistletoe (which is technically a parasitic plant), or a “witch’s broom” growth irregularity spurred on by animal or bacterial invasions. And now, a post shared to ...