THE mistletoe is a strange, unusual little plant indeed. Known to the congnoscenti as Viscum album, it is described as "semi-parasitic" because it draws some of its nourishment from the bark of the tree it has chosen as its host. But it also uses the chlorophill in its leaves to harvest energy from the sun by photosynthesis.
The plant grows in an almost, spherical bushy mass, two or three feet in diameter, on the branches of almost any kind of tree, but it has a particular affinity for apple trees. In late autumn and early winter its yellowish flowers develop into the familiar white berries, each of which contains a single seed. Birds rather like these berries, and spread the seeds from tree to tree as they wipe their beaks after having had a tasty snack.
There is a myth that the mistletoe was once the lignum sanctae crucis, the wood from which the crucifixion cross was made, and that it was for serving this unholy purpose that it was condemned to be a parasite. But the mystic reputation of the plant goes farther back Pliny the Elder records that on those rare occasions when mistletoe was found upon an oak, the Celtic druids would cut the plant with a golden sickle, catching it in a pure white robe to prevent the draining of its magic powers by contact with the earth, and then use it in a variety of sacred rites intended to make barren women fertile. It may well be from this ancient belief that the origins of the more recent custom of kissing under the mistletoe are to be found.
But the mistletoe serves another most important function. Our ancestors in classical times depended for their protection from lightning on certain plants or animals that were believed to be immune from lightning strike. Wearing an olive branch, for example, was a reliable preventive measure so also was the laurel wreath which besides being a symbol of victory, also served the purpose of protecting its wearer from the thunderbolt. Tiberius Caesar, allegedly quite terrified of thunderstorms, was reputed to wear his laurel wreath at every possible opportunity precisely for this reason.
We of the northern latitudes, however, living as we do where olive trees and even laurels are rather hard to find, have taken to the mistletoe instead to meet this need. A sprig of the plant, hanging in a room, is said to provide infallible lightning protection for a dwelling.