Mistletoe Benefits

General:

Mistletoe (Viscum album European Mistletoe / Phoradendron leucarpum Eastern Mistletoe) belongs to the family of Santalaceae and is a hemiparasitic plant. This means a plant is a parasite but also able to do photosynthesis (to a certain degree). Mistletoe, however, has chlorophyll and deprives its host only of water and mineral nutrients.

Common hosts of Viscum album are poplar, willow, apple tree, pine and European silver fir.

An interesting fact to know is, that Viscum album is not native to North America, but it has been brought to California. Common hosts of Phoradendron leucarpum are maple tree and oak.

Mistletoe has forked branches and grows in the shape of a sphere. The leafs are elongated, egg-shaped, evergreen, thickly and

Its important substances of content are viscotoxins, lectins, flavonoids, and polysaccharides.

In Phytotherapy, the green herbage is used as tea extract for prophylaxis against arteriosclerosis, as an antihypertensive drug, contra vertigo, and congestion in the head. Folk medicine says mistletoe herbage should be used for calming the nerves, contra epilepsy, and seizures on children.

In Homeopathy Viscum album is given to people who suffer from arteriosclerosis, vertigo, seizures or raised blood pressure.

In every case, special care should be taken with small children and animals because of the toxicity of the plant, therefore never leave mistletoe in reach for them.

Important: One should always contact a physician before the ingestion of medical mistletoe.

Lore & Myths

When I think of Lore and Myths around the mistletoe, the first thing that would come to my mind is the story of Baldur's death:

One night the God Baldur dreamt of his own death. His mother, Frigg, let all Elements, all stones, all plants and animals, poisons and diseases – in short everything on earth – swear an oath, not to harm Baldur. All but the mistletoe, of which she thought was too puny to harm her

So they threw spears at him or they would shoot arrows. What could possibly go wrong? Well… The factor Loki could. One should know that Baldur has a blind brother, named Hödur. Due to his condition, he couldn't participate in this game. Loki, who found out about the weak spot, the mistletoe, gave Hödur said plant and guided his hand. Hödur threw the mistletoe, hit bull's eye and Baldur died. However, it is said, Baldur will rise from the dead after Ragnarök, to bring a new dawn.

The next thought came from my own childhood. If you know Astérix, the druid Getafix should also be familiar to you. He is depicted clad in a white robe and harvesting mistletoe with his golden sickle. As I learned through my research, Mr. Goscinny and Mr. Uderzo, the authors, did their research very well because there is an actual Druidic Ritual concerning the harvest of mistletoe.

Plinius the Elder wrote in his book 'Naturalis historia' of the Druidic Rite of 'Oak and Mistletoe'. On the 6th day after the New Moon in winter, the druid would have led a procession to an oak, in which branches mistletoe grew. Mistletoe per se was a holy plant but connected to an oak even more so. One has to know that Viscum album growing on an oak is a rare