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.

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.

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, ...

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 ...

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.

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 ...

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

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.

Note: Mistletoe may be plentiful in your New Orleans neighborhood, but it is probably not prudent to shoot at it with guns, as is a preferred method of bringing the plant to the ground.