Viscum album

Taxobox
name = "Viscum album"

---

image_width = 240px
image_caption = "Viscum album" growing on a "Populus" species
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Santalales
familia = Loranthaceae
genus = "Viscum"
species = "V. album"
binomial = "Viscum album"
binomial_authority = L.

"Viscum album"D. Zuber (2004). Biological flora of Central Europe: "Viscum album" L. Flora 199, 181-203] is a species of mistletoe, the species originally so-named, and also known as European Mistletoe or Common Mistletoe to distinguish it from other related species. It is native to Europe, and western and southern Asia.

It is a hemi-parasitic shrub, which grows on the stems of other trees. It has stems 30-100 cm long with dichotomous branching. The leaves are in opposite pairs, strap-shaped, entire, leathery textured, 2-8 cm long and 0.8-2.5 cm broad, yellowish-green in colour. This species is dioecious and the flowers are inconspicuous, yellowish-green, 2-3 mm diameter. The fruit is a white or yellow berry containing one (very rarely several) seed embedded in the very sticky, glutinous fruit pulp.

Several subspecies are commonly accepted [http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Viscum&SPECIES_XREF=album&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= Flora Europaea: "Viscum album"] ] [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=242414826 Flora of China: "Viscum album"] ] Bean, W. J. (1980). Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles 8th ed. 4: 725-726. ISBN 0-7195-2428-8] Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). The Illustrated Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-40170-2.] . They differ in fruit colour, leaf shape and size, and most obviously in the host trees utilised.
*"Viscum album" subsp. "abietis" (Wiesb.) Abromeit. Central Europe. Fruit white; leaves up to 8 cm. On "Abies".
*"Viscum album" subsp. "album". Europe, southwestern Asia east to Nepal. Fruit white; leaves 3-5 cm. On "Malus", "Populus", "Tilia", and less often on numerous other species, including (rarely) "Quercus".
*"Viscum album" subsp. "austriacum" (Wiesb.) Vollmann. Fruit yellow; leaves 2-4 cm. Central Europe. On "Larix", "Pinus", "Picea".
*"Viscum album" subsp. "meridianum" (Danser) D.G.Long. Southeastern Asia. Fruit yellow; leaves 3-5 cm. On "Acer", "Carpinus", "Juglans", "Prunus", "Sorbus".
*"Viscum album" subsp. "creticum" has recently been described from eastern Crete Böhling, N., Greuter, W., Raus, T., Snogerup, B., Snogerup, S. & Zuber, D. (2003). Notes on the Cretan mistletoe, Viscum album subsp. creticum subsp. nova (Loranthaceae/Viscaceae). "Israel J. Pl. Sci". 50 (Suppl.): 77-84.] Fruit white; leaves short. On "Pinus brutia".
*"Viscum album" subsp. "coloratum" Kom. is treated by the "Flora of China" as a distinct species "Viscum coloratum" (Kom) Nakai.

Mythology and symbolism

It has always attracted interest and has been surrounded by a number of myths and legends. In some countries it plays a part in Christmas festivities. It also features in the popular Asterix comic books, where mistletoe collected from oaks was considered to have special qualities.

References

* [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200006582 Flora of Pakistan: "Viscum album"]
* [http://www.flora-x.de/viscum1.htm "Viscum album" subsp. "creticum"]
*Huxley, A., ed. (1992). "New RHS Dictionary of Gardening" 4: 676. ISBN 0-333-47494-5