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Notes on harvest

Mistletoe is harvested from November to December and between March and April. In the spring harvest, the shrubs have inconspicuous flowers, because the flowering period extends from January to April. The berries ripen in the Advent season. Mistletoe bushes can be used completely Handsaws or cut off in parts with scissors. A telescopic saw comes in handy when you don't have a ladder on hand.

Native species

There are two species in Germany that are distantly related. To find mistletoe, you need to know the preferred host plants. The plant parts are not suitable for consumption because they contain toxic ingredients.

White berry mistletoe

This shrubby half parasite belongs to the real mistletoe and bears the botanical name Viscum album. The plant colonizes branches and trunks mainly from deciduous trees. It can be found on fruit trees, maple, linden, birch, poplar and willow. Hornbeam and hawthorn are also preferred hosts. The species thrives particularly vigorously on locust trees and forms broad leaves.

Oak mistletoe

This species with the scientific name Loranthus europaeus belongs to a different genus and is rarely found in Germany. It prefers growing locations with dry air and likes warm summer months. In contrast to the white berry mistletoe, this plant is deciduous.

Danger to trees

Mistletoes are parasites that remove nutrients from their host plants. Since old trees are weakened, the shrubby plants find optimal points of attack. When the seeds germinate, a tube develops under the cotyledons. This ends in a suction disc. The tube penetrates the cell tissue of the host plant so that the parasite can draw nutrients from the pathways. In old orchards, the mistletoe can be so thick that the survival of the tree is in danger.

How to reduce an infestation:

• Check trees regularly in winter
• Cut the mistletoe just above the stem
• Eliminate newly emerging parasites directly