SymbiosisSymbiosis
European Mistletoe
George Chernilevsky / CC BY 4.0

Tree · Santalaceae

European Mistletoe

Viscum album

Facts

Habitat
Obligate hemiparasite of broadleaved trees; found in parkland, orchards, and open woodland wherever host species grow
IUCN status
LC (Least Concern)
Max height
1 m
European Mistletoe foliage
Foliage · (c) Maciej Boenisch, some rights reserved (CC BY)

Ecological relationships

Parasitises

  • Black PoplarPopulus nigra

    Obligate hemiparasite tapping host xylem for water and minerals; Black Poplar is a preferred continental host, frequently colonised in floodplain woodlands.

  • European AshFraxinus excelsior

    Ash is a frequent mistletoe host in western European woodlands, particularly in Britain and France.

Seeds dispersed by

  • Mistle ThrushTurdus viscivorus

    Primary ornithochorous disperser; sticky seeds are wiped from the bill onto host branches after ingestion. The namesake mutualism from which the bird's English name derives (Snow & Snow 1988).

  • FieldfareTurdus pilaris

    Feeds on Mistletoe berries and disperses sticky seeds to new host branches (Zuber 2004).