Viscum coloratum is an evergreen, shrub of Korea, Japan, and China and a close cousin of Europe's Christmas mistletoe. It forms round, nest-like clumps high in oaks and other broadleaf trees and bears translucent pale yellow berries. It doesn't grow in the US, where a different native plant, American mistletoe (Phoradendron leucarpum), usually fills mistletoe's holiday role.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Yellow-green stems fork again and again into a ball-shaped clump, easiest to spot in winter when the host tree is bare.
- Leaves
- Paired, narrow, thick, leathery leaves about 1–2.5 in (2–6 cm) long, with no stalk.
- Flowers
- Tiny pale yellow flowers sit at the branch tips. Male and female flowers grow on separate plants.
- Fruit
- Round, translucent, pale yellow berries about 1/4–1/3 in (6–9 mm) across, each with a single seed. A form with orange-red berries also exists.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Mountain forests
- Branches of broadleaf trees
- Range
- Native to Korea, Japan, and China. It isn't found in the wild in the US.
- Preferred conditions
- Grows on sunny upper branches of deciduous trees. In Korea oaks are the most common hosts, including Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica).
Life cycle
- Seed dispersal
- The sticky berry pulp glues seeds to branches. Seeds only take root easily on thin-barked young twigs.
Name and classification
- About the name
- Some botanists treat it as a subspecies or variety of European mistletoe (Viscum album). Korean researchers often call it Korean mistletoe.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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