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Phoradendron leucarpum

Common name:	False Mistletoe	Family:	Viscaceae
Author:	(Raf.)Reveal.& M.C.Johnst.	Botanical references:	200, 235
Synonyms:	Phoradendron serotinum ((Raf.)M.C.Johnst.), Phoradendron flavescens ((Pursh.)Nutt.)
Known Hazards:	There are recorded cases of the berries poisoning people[213]. Contact with the plant can cause dermatitis in some people[222].
Range:	N. America - New Jersey to Florida, west to Illinois and Texas.
Habitat:	A parasite growing on deciduous trees, especially Acer rubrum and Nyssa spp[235].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	P. eatonii[B,P] P. flavescens var. orbiculatum[B,P] P. macrotomum[B,P] P. serotinum var. macrotomum[B,P] Viscum flavescens[B] Viscum flavescens sensu[P] Viscum leucarpum[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	American Mistletoe [H,S], Christmas Mistletoe [E], Mistletoe [E], Mistletoe, American [S], Oak Mistletoe [P,B],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Santalales. Christmas Mistletoe family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Mexico(Kickapoo) Us Us(Amerindian)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 1m by 1m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 6. It is in leaf all year, in flower from February to April, and the seeds ripen from November to December. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Abortifacient Contraceptive Oxytoxic.

A tea made from the leaves is said to procure abortions and also to prevent conception[213]. It causes an increase in uterine contractions and helps to stop bleeding after parturition[213]. When injected into the blood it increases blood pressure[213].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

A parasitic plant, growing on the branches of several deciduous species of trees. It has a wide range of hosts, though it is usually only found on one species in any given area[200]. The host tree must be at least 20 years old[200].
This species is seldom cultivated since it can severely weaken its host[200].

Propagation

This is a parasitic plant that grows entirely on the host tree. To grow it you need to obtain berries and squash them onto the branches of host trees in late autumn and early winter[11]. This is best done on the lower side of the branch[1]. It is then simply a matter of waiting and hoping.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Phoradendron flavescens (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine

References for Phoradendron serotinum (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for phoradendron flavescens (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

References for the family Viscaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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