Hunting for Mistletoe

I am currently working on a small sign that introduces the plant Mistletoe (Phoradendron macrophyllum). Now I didn't know very much about this plant before I started doing my research. I knew that Mistletoe is toxic  for humans, that it is a parasite (which means it steals nutrients from the tree it grows upon), and that there is a species native to California.

I was surprised to find in my research that there are over four species of Phoradendron macrophyllum that is native to the west coast (US), and the southern states (Arizona, New Mexico, and Western Texas). I also learned that most of my first impressions of this plant were completely wrong. I always thought this plant was supposed to be bad and that you would usually want to remove it. But I learned that Mistletoe provides many animals, such as Mule Deer, food resources during winter.

Luckily, this species grows just down the street a little way off the Sugar Loaf Trail.  Taran and I decided to go out for a hike to find this species and get some decent photographs of it for my signage.

I had always remembered seeing patches of Mistletoe on the trees among this trail. I found more Dwarf Mistletoe than the particular species I was looking for. The Dwarf Mistletoe was growing heavily on many of the pine trees. I finally spotted Phoradendron macrophyllum when I started looking a bit lower. I was surprised to find it growing on a shrub. I haven't identified this shrub yet (since I am new to this ecosystem). The leaves looked just like the leaves found on Oak trees, but unlike Oak trees, the shrubs didn't grow any higher then me. Many of the Mistletoe plants were growing off the trunk or lower branches, which is why I didn't find it in the first place since I was trying to spot it out on higher tree branches.

Again, Mistletoe shouldn't me messed around by humans. But you can see how the this plant pops from the barren branches of trees during fall and winter. Many animals like to feed upon it, including birds who eat the Mistletoe berries. Birds also use this plant for cover and nesting. Mistletoe is dispersed by the birds who eat it's berries. The berries are sticky and get stuck on the bird's feet and beaks. Later the seeds from the berries fall off the bird. If they fall onto a branch of the right hosting tree, they might germinate. Severe "infection" often occurs on older trees, where birds enjoy the high branches for lounging.

Since my plants were growing too close to the ground in thicker foliage, which made getting a decent photograph for my sign hard, I decided to eradicate one of the plants from a tree that was infected. From my research, I learned that Mistletoe co-exist with their host and don't harm the tree it grows upon, endless there are too many Mistletoe plants growing on one tree. I found one of the shrubs that counted seven large Mistletoes and removed the smallest one who's berries were already gobbled up by the birds and could not germinate. I used this plant to get a clearer shot.

Hunting for Phoradendron macrophyllum was a lot of fun. Everything about this project has been a surprise.  Many of my first impressions on this plant were not so close to the truth and it wasn't growing were I'd expected to find it. Through my research, I read many lores about this plant that was interesting.