There are a couple of trees in my yard that have dropped all their leaves, but I am noticing a kind of green, leafy growth on some of the branches. Any idea what this is? DV

The growth you are asking about is likely mistletoe. It seems like each year we get questions about mistletoe. Because it’s such an interesting plant of local importance, I don’t mind a little review. First of all, here’s a little history on the mistletoe plant.

Way back when, Aristotle (384-322 BC) believed mistletoe just appeared on trees out of nowhere. But a student of his named Theophrastus (320-270 BC) had a different idea. He suggested that mistletoe actually grew from seeds found in bird feces which had been inadvertently deposited on trees. Turns out he was correct. However, we owe the stories about the history and customs associated with mistletoe to Pliny the Elder (23-70 AD). Of course, you are familiar with Pliny the Elder (kidding). One of the things Pliny was known for was his encyclopedic Naturalis Historia (Natural History). This collection became the model for later encyclopedias. Pliny died in AD79 while trying to rescue a friend and their family from an erupting Mt. Vesuvius. No, this doesn’t have anything to do with mistletoe but, props to Pliny.

Pliny’s writings let us know that back in the day, oaks were considered sacred. Here’s why. As we know, deciduous trees drop their leaves in the fall. When the leaves of the tree fell, they revealed the mistletoe which had been hidden by the leaves. At the time they believed all the energy of the oak tree was concentrated and stored over the winter in these green leaves high up in the trees. Because of this belief, people would remove the mistletoe and bring it home, hoping that all this life-energy would protect them from injury or harm.

It was in the 16^th century in England we see the custom of kissing under the mistletoe beginning. Apparently, kissing under this plant was considered a good way to increase fertility of the kissing parties. Because of this, mistletoe was easy to find in the markets along with other seasonal greenery. Now on to the tale of how mistletoe got associated with Oklahoma.

It begins with the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. This was before Oklahoma was a state. Apparently, the Women’s Congress of the Chicago World’s Fair wanted all the states participating in the fair to have a unique and individual floral emblem. Since Oklahoma wanted to become a state, they set out to pick their floral emblem.

It was Oklahoma Territorial Representative John Wimberly who introduced a bill in the Territorial Legislature designating mistletoe as the territory’s official floral emblem. As you can imagine, there was some discussion about the appropriateness of having a parasitic plant as our floral emblem. Wimberly argued that during tough winters, mistletoe was often the only green plant to be found in Oklahoma Territory. As such it was used as greenery to decorate caskets at funerals. His argument must have been convincing because mistletoe was indeed designated as the territory’s official floral emblem.

Apparently, not everyone was in favor of this designation since several years later Mr. Bill Murray (also known as Alfalfa Bill Murray) wanted to change the official floral emblem to… wait for it… alfalfa. Murray’s efforts failed even though he went on to become governor of the state.

In 1986 Rep. Kelly Haney from Seminole introduced a bill that would designate the Indian Blanket as our official wildflower. This bill passed and over twenty Native American tribes were represented at the designation ceremony. However, the official wildflower did not dethrone mistletoe as the official floral emblem.

Later in 2004, Gov. Brad Henry signed a law selecting the Oklahoma Rose as our official state flower. So, if you are keeping count, now we have an official state flower, and official state wildflower, and of course our official state floral emblem.

So that’s the story of mistletoe in Oklahoma, but what about the plant?

Mistletoe plants come in male and female varieties, but it’s the females that produce the white berries most of us are familiar with. These berries serve as food for cedar waxwings and robins among others. The pulp of the berry is digested but the seeds work through their digestive system and are discarded via the bird’s excrement. These seed containing bird droppings are what enable the seeds to be “planted” on the branch of a tree. In what seems like a strange twist, the Old English word “mistletoe” means “dung on a twig.” So, there’s that…

Since the leaves are dropping on most of our deciduous trees, we are able to see mistletoe up in some of those trees now. Some trees may only have a couple of mistletoe plants while others can have quite a few more. There is a good reason for this. As birds eat the berries, seeds are deposited on the branches. The more mistletoe berries, the more seeds deposited, and they tend to get deposited where the bird are dining causing the mistletoe plants to accumulate on favorite trees.

Mistletoe is a parasitic plant which means it draws all of its nutrients from the host tree. For the most part, healthy trees can tolerate a little mistletoe. However, as the quantity of mistletoe plants increase, the diversion of nutrients to the mistletoe rather than the tree can take a toll. A large quantity of mistletoe can actually kill a tree.

If you are concerned about the mistletoe in your trees, pruning the mistletoe out is a good option while problematic on larger trees. There is a product called Florel that reduces flowering thereby reducing berries, but timing is critical when applying this product.

If you are the type who wants to bring a little mistletoe into the house to carry on the tradition, after you hang it on the doorway, be sure to wash your hands with hot, soapy water and keep it our of the reach of children and pets as the berries are poisonous.

As for me, I think I’ll continue to locate myself under the mistletoe when I see it just to see if the tradition holds true. See you in the garden!

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org. Photo: Tom Ingram