Viscum

Viscum 

(Old World mistletoe), a genus of hemiparasitic shrubs of the family Loranthaceae. Mistletoe grows on the branches of trees and may be monoecious or dioecious. The opposite or whorled leaves are sessile, entire, and leathery. The small, unisexual flowers are greenish, yellow, or whitish. They are in clusters of three in the axils of the leaves or, less commonly, are solitary. The fruit usually is a single-seeded berry; it is white, yellow, orange, or red. The seeds are naked and have sticky flesh.

There are approximately 70 species of mistletoe, distributed primarily in the tropics and subtropics of Africa. A few species are encountered in tropical Asia, northern Australia, and Eurasia. Two species grow in the USSR: the true mistletoe, V. album, is found in the Caucasus and in the central and southern belts of the European USSR; V. coloratum grows in the Far East. The true mistletoe has three subspecies. One subspecies parasitizes pear, apple, poplar, and maple leaves, and the other grows on such conifers as pines and firs. The berries are distributed by birds; they yield birdlime, which is used to entrap small birds.

An extract prepared from the young leaves of the true mistletoe is used to treat hypertension in its early stages.

REFERENCE

Atlas lekarstvennykh rastenii SSSR. Moscow, 1962.

T. V. EGOROVA