Sycamore Mistletoe, Phoradendron tomentsoum, is the most common mistletoe used in Southern California by high school fundraising groups to make a buck and inspire more kissing.
High school students need inspiration, apparently.
As George Bernard Shaw said, “Youth is wasted on the young.”
Sycamore Mistletoe is revealed in the fall, as its host loses the leaves that shield it in the spring and summer.
This mistletoe does generate its own chlorophyll, but it does suck nutrients and water from the host tree.
Learned something. Didn’t know all these years that this staple of holiday parties and romantic/embarrassing moments is a parasite!
Yup, it gives a whole new perspective to on demand kissing, I think!
BTW, you get my vote for “Best Dressed Gravatar”!
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