TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora. |
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Perennial, shrub, generally ± green, parasitic on aboveground parts of woody plants, dioecious or monoecious
Stem brittle; 2° branches generally many
Leaves simple, entire, opposite, 4-ranked, with blade or leaves scale-like (then each pair generally fused)
Inflorescence: spikes or open cymes, generally axillary, sometimes terminal; bracts opposite, 4-ranked, scale-like, each pair fused
Flower unisexual, radial, 24 mm; perianth parts in generally ± 1 series
Staminate flower: perianth parts 34(7); anthers generally ± sessile, opposite and generally on perianth parts
Pistillate flower: perianth parts generally 24; ovary inferior, 1-chambered, style unbranched, stigma ± obscure
Fruit: berry, shiny, gelatinous
Seeds 1(2), without thickened coat
Genera in family: 7 genera, ± 450 species: tropical, generally n temp
Reference: [Kuijt 1982 J Arnold Arbor 63:401410]
Sometimes included in Loranthaceae; parasitic on plants in many other families. Frs generally dispersed by birds or seeds explosively ejected.All parts of most members may be TOXIC .
Shrub, glabrous, evergreen, dioecious in CA
Stem generally < 20 cm, rounded, green, less often reddish; 2° branches opposite, sometimes whorled and in > 1 plane
Leaf: blade well developed
Inflorescence: cymes, few-flowered, dense, short-peduncled or sessile, subtended by pair of fused bracts
Flower: perianth parts generally 4
Staminate flower: anthers several-chambered
Pistillate flower: perianth parts generally deciduous
Fruit 610 mm, ± spheric, white in CA, maturing (in temp) in 2 seasons, dispersed by consumption (by birds); pedicel short, ± straight, or 0
Species in genus: ± 125 species: temp, tropical, Old World
Etymology: (Latin: mistletoe)
Reference: [Hawksworth & Scharpf 1987 Eur J Forest Path 16:15]
Introduced |
Stem: internodes ± 5 cm
Leaf generally 58 cm, ± 1.5 cm wide, narrow-obovate; petiole short
Inflorescence 35-flowered
Fruit glabrous
Chromosomes: n=10
Ecology: On Acer, Alnus, Betula, Crataegus, Malus, Populus, Robinia, Salix, Ulmus , other deciduous trees
Elevation: 60100 m.
Bioregional distribution: Outer North Coast Ranges (Sebastopol, Santa Rosa, Sonoma Co.)
Distribution outside California: native to Eurasia
Flowering time: FebMar
Introduced to CA by Luther Burbank ± 1900, sometimes sold locally in Christmas trade.