Mistletoe in a tree
Many people email me asking about dense clumps of pendulous foliage in the middle of gum trees and many other trees including deciduous ones like liquidambars.
Do you know what causes it? Well it’s simply a mistletoe plant. They suck sap from the tree and usually do no harm at all.
In fact they attract and feed many honey eating birds, plus mistletoe birds and others.
A heavy infestation of lots of mistletoe plants in one tree indicates that the tree is sick. This sickness is not caused by the mistletoe plants.
Anyway, Christmas is coming, so why not snip off a bit of mistletoe and hang it over the doorway.
Kissing under mistletoe is supposed to create babies.
… Ah well.
Hooroo, Don.