Viscum is a genus of about 70–100 species of mistletoes, native to temperate and tropical regions of Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia.[1] Traditionally, the genus has been placed in its own family Viscaceae, but recent genetic research by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group shows this family to be correctly placed within a larger circumscription of the sandalwood family, Santalaceae. Its name is the origin of the English word viscous, after the Latin viscum, a sticky bird lime made from the plants' berries.
They are woody, obligate hemiparasitic shrubs with branches 15–80 centimetres (5.9–31.5 in) long. Their hosts are woody shrubs and trees. The foliage is dichotomously or verticillately branching, with opposite pairs or whorls of green leaves which perform some photosynthesis (minimal in some species, notably V. nudum), but with the plant drawing its mineral and water needs from the host tree. Different species of Viscum tend to use different host species; most species are able to use several different host species.
The flowers are inconspicuous, greenish-yellow, 1–3 millimetres (0.039–0.118 in) diameter. The fruit is a berry, white, yellow, orange, or red when mature, containing one or more seeds embedded in very sticky juice; the seeds are dispersed when birds (notably the mistle thrush) eat the fruit, and remove the sticky seeds from the bill by wiping them on tree branches where they can germinate.
^O'Neill, A. R.; Rana, S. K. (2019). "An ethnobotanical analysis of parasitic plants (Parijibi) in the Nepal Himalaya". Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 12 (14). doi:10.1186/s13002-016-0086-y. PMC 4765049.
Viscum album is a species of mistletoe in the family Santalaceae, commonly known as European mistletoe, common mistletoe or simply as mistletoe (Old English...
from the host plant. The name mistletoe originally referred to the species Viscum album (European mistletoe, of the family Santalaceae in the order Santalales);...
Viscum cruciatum, commonly called the red-berry mistletoe, is a species of mistletoe in the family Santalaceae. It is native to Lebanon, Morocco, Israel...
Gloeodinium viscum is a dinoflagellate symbiont of Millepora dichotoma. Banaszak, Anastazia T.; Iglestas-Prieto, Roberto; Trench, Robert K. (1993). "Scrippsiella...
Viscum rotundifolium, the red-berry mistletoe, is a variable, wide-ranging and monoecious mistletoe of southern Africa. It is a hardy, evergreen hemiparasite...
Viscum combreticola, the Combretum mistletoe, is a leafless, dioecious mistletoe shrub, occurring from southern to tropical Africa, in a broad zone following...
Viscum exile is a species of mistletoe in the family Santalaceae. It is a parasitic plant native to Sulawesi. "Viscum exile | Flora Malesiana". portal...
Viscum capense (common name, Cape mistletoe) is a species of Mistletoe that is indigenous to South Africa, especially the area from Cape Town, northwards...
Acinodrillia viscum is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Drilliidae. The length of the white, claviform shell varies between...
Viscum minimum is a species of mistletoe in the family Santalaceae. It is a parasitic plant native to South Africa. In its native habitat Viscum minimum...
used in North America as a surrogate for the similar European mistletoe Viscum album, in Christmas decoration and associated traditions (such as "kissing...
Genus Viscum: Viscum anceps E.Mey. ex Sprague, endemic Viscum capense L.f. indigenous Viscum capense L.f. subsp. hoolei Wiens, accepted as Viscum hoolei...
or inviscid. The word "viscosity" is derived from the Latin viscum ("mistletoe"). Viscum also referred to a viscous glue derived from mistletoe berries...
1982). "Isolation and Characterization of Viscumin, a Toxic Lectin from Viscum album L. (Mistletoe)". The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 257 (22): 13263–13270...
limes common in western Asia Echinacea tea Elderberry European mistletoe (Viscum album), (steep in cold water for 2–6 hours) Essiac tea, blended herbal tea...
Arceuthobium Dendrophthora Ginalloa Korthalsella Notothixos Phoradendron Viscum Wikimedia Commons has media related to Viscaceae. "Angiosperm Phylogeny...
wingspan is 20–22 mm. The larvae feed on Viscum album, Viscum album abietis, Viscum album austriacum, Viscum laxum and Loranthus europaeus. Checklist...
are cytotoxic. This feature means that it could be used to treat cancers. Viscum album European mistletoe It has been used to treat seizures, headaches,...
can absorb water and nutrients from another plant, such as in mistletoe (Viscum album) and dodder. Propagative roots: roots that form adventitious buds...
Eggert A, Seifert G, Delebinski CI (2016). "Multiple Active Compounds from Viscum album L. Synergistically Converge to Promote Apoptosis in Ewing Sarcoma"...
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