Mistletoe might seem like a festive holiday plant, but its real story is far stranger - and more sinister. In this episode, we uncover the explosive, poisonous, and parasitic truth about mistletoe.

The plant is evergreen and keeps its leaves all year long. Oftentimes, homeowners do not realize that they have mistletoe in their trees until the winter when deciduous trees lose their leaves.

Like American mistletoe, the entire European mistletoe plant is toxic, though the berries have very low amounts of toxin. European mistletoe contains viscotoxins, which prevent new cells from forming.

Try to keep mistletoe plants out of the reach of small children and pets. If a child or pet consumes it, it's best to check with poison control (800-222-1222), your physician, or your veterinarian ...

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — We often think of mistletoe as a plastic holiday décor item, but in West Virginia, the chances of seeing the real thing are actually pretty high if you know where to ...

He has since tracked mistletoe across the globe, and co-wrote a paper in the 2022 issue of Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics about the role of parasitic plants in a warming world.

Even though most mistletoe species conduct photosynthesis, these hemiparasitic — or partially parasitic — plants still obtain sugars and other organic molecules from their host.

While mistletoe plants are either male or female, it’s the female plants that produce the white berries. Certain types of birds, such as cedar waxwings and robins, like to eat those berries.

For centuries, mistletoe has been hung in doorways all around the world to assist in holiday matchmaking. But there’s more to mistletoe than just its romantic associations. This plant has a ...

If this all makes mistletoe sound like a common plant criminal, keep reading. There is a positive ecological side of this parasite. When a plant prepares to go dormant for the winter season, ...

If you have mistletoe hanging from your rafters, you could be endangering your kids and your pets because it’s also toxic to cats and dogs. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the ...

Kissing under the mistletoe is a well-known holiday tradition, but mistletoe also is a parasitic plant that favors mesquite trees in San Antonio. San Antonio Express-News Hearst Newspapers Logo.