Christmas Mistletoe -- A Delicious Recipe for a Holiday Tradition

ChristmasCanadian Heritage ? Public holidays ? Government of Canada. Retrieved November 27, 2009. or Christmas Day2009 Federal Holidays ? U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Retrieved November 27, 2009.Bank holidays and British Summer time ? HM Government. Retrieved November 27, 2009. is an annual holiday, celebrated on December 25, that commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.Christmas, Merriam-Webster. Retrieved October 6, 2008."Christmas," MSN Encarta. Retrieved October 6, 2008....

Mistletoe is the common name for a group of hemi-parasitic plants in the order Santalales that grow attached to and within the branches of a tree or shrub. Parasitism evolved only nine times in the plant kingdom;Job Kuijt, Biology of Parasitic Flowering Plants (University of California) 1969. of those, the parasitic mistletoe habit has evolved independently five times: Misodendraceae, Loranthaceae, Santalaceae (formerly considered the separate family Eremolepidaceae), and Santalaceae (formerly treated as the separate family Viscaceae). Although Viscaceae and Eremolepidaceae were placed in a broadly-defined Santalaceae by Angiosperm Phylogeny Group 2, DNA data indicates that they evolved independently.

The word 'mistletoe' is of uncertain etymology; it may be related to German Mist, for dung and Tang for branch, since mistletoe can be spread in the feces of birds moving from tree to tree. However, Old English mistel was also used for basil.

European mistletoe, Viscum album, is a poisonous plant that causes acute gastrointestinal problems including stomach pain, and diarrhea along with low pulse.

The name was originally applied to Viscum album (European Mistletoe, Santalaceae), the only species native in Great Britain and much of Europe. Later the name was further extended to other related species, including Phoradendron serotinum (the Eastern Mistletoe of eastern North America, also Santalaceae). European Mistletoe is readily recognized by its smooth-edged oval evergreen leaves borne in pairs along the woody stem, and waxy white berries in dense clusters of 2 to 6. In America, the Eastern Mistletoe is similar, but has shorter, broader leaves and longer clusters of 10 or more berries. In the United States, Phoradendron flavescens is commercially harvested for Christmas decorations.

The largest family of Mistletoes, Loranthaceae, has 73 genera and over 900 species.WS Judd, CS Campbell, EA Kellogg, PF Stevens & MJ Donaghue (2002) Plant systematics: a phylogenetic approach. Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland Massachusetts, USA. ISBN 0-87893-403-0 Subtropical and tropical climates have markedly more Mistletoe species; Australia has 85, of which 71 are in Loranthaceae, and 14 in Santalaceae.B.A. Barlow (1983) A revision of the Viscaceae of Australia. Brunonia 6, 25-58.

Category: File - :Cuscuta parasite plant.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Cuscuta Parasite Plant

A parasitic plant is one that derives some or all of its sustenance from another plant. About 4,100 species in approximately 19 families of flowering plants are known.Nickrent, D. L. and Musselman, L. J. 2004. Introduction to Parasitic Flowering Plants. The Plant Health Instructor. DOI: 10.1094/PHI-I-2004-0330-01 [http://www.apsnet.org/education/IntroPlantPath/PathogenGroups/Parasiticplants/] Parasitic plants have a modified root, the haustorium, that penetrates the host plant and...

Santalales is an order of flowering plants with a cosmopolitan distribution, but heavily concentrated in tropical and subtropical regions.

Most have seeds without a testa, which is unusual for flowering plants. Many of the members of the order are parasitic plants, mostly hemi-parasites, able to produce sugars through photosynthesis, but tapping the stems or roots of other plants to obtain water and minerals; some (e.g. Arceuthobium) are obligate parasites, have low concentrations of chlorophyll within their shoots (1/5 to 1/10 of that found in their host's foliage)...