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Viscum album
Also called Mistletoe
European mistletoe is a hemiparasitic evergreen shrub that grows on the branches of broad-leaved trees such as apple, lime, hawthorn and poplar, drawing water and nutrients from its host. It is grown mainly as a wild plant or festive decoration rather than a garden plant, and the key point is that it cannot be grown on its own in soil.
Viscum album is a species of mistletoe in the family Santalaceae, commonly called European mistletoe, common mistletoe, or simply mistletoe (Old English mistle). It is native to Europe, as well as western and southern Asia. V. album is found only rarely in North America, as an introduced species.
Viscum album is a hemiparasite on several species of trees, from which it draws water and nutrients. It has a significant role in European mythology, legends, and customs. In modern times, it is commonly featured among Christmas decorations and symbology. In North America its cultural roles are usually fulfilled by the similar native species, Phoradendron leucarpum.
If ingested in a concentrated form, such as a herbal tea infusion, European mistletoe is potentially fatal. People have been known to become seriously ill from eating the berries.
The toxic lectin viscumin has been isolated from Viscum album. Viscumin is a cytotoxic protein (ribosome inactivating protein, or RIP) that binds to galactose residues of cell surface glycoproteins and may be internalised by endocytosis. Viscumin strongly inhibits protein synthesis by inactivating the 60 S ribosomal subunit. The structure of this protein is very similar to other RIPs, showing the most resemblance to ricin and abrin.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Viscum album by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
