Download Mistletoe

Mistletoe ：
a parasitic plant with white berries,
traditionally used as a Christmas
decoration。
資料來源：http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/festivals-christmas.htm
englishclub.com
Mistletoe is especially interesting botanically
because it is a partial parasite (a "hemiparasite").
As a parasitic plant, it grows on the branches or
trunk of a tree and actually sends out roots that
penetrate into the tree and take up nutrients.
But mistletoe is also capable for growing on its own;
like other plants it can produce its own food by
photosynthesis. Mistletoe, however, is more
commonly found growing as a parasitic plant.
There are two types of mistletoe. The
mistletoe that is commonly used as a
Christmas decoration (Phoradendron
flavescens) is native to North America and
grows as a parasite on trees in the west as
also in those growing in a line down the east
from New Jersey to Florida. The other type
of mistletoe, Viscum album, is of European
origin.
The European mistletoe is a green shrub with
small, yellow flowers and white, sticky berries
which are considered poisonous. It commonly
seen on apple but only rarely on oak trees. The
rarer oak mistletoe was greatly venerated by
the ancient Celts and Germans and used as a
ceremonial plant by early Europeans. The
Greeks and earlier peoples thought that it had
mystical powers and down through the
centuries it became associated with many
folklore customs.
資料來源：http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/history/mistletoe.htm
Sitting under the mistletoe
(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),
One last candle burning low,
All the sleepy dancers gone,
Just one candle burning on,
Shadows lurking everywhere:
Some one came, and kissed me there.
Tired I was; my head would go
Nodding under the mistletoe
(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),
No footsteps came, no voice, but only,
Just as I sat there, sleepy, lonely,
Stooped in the still and shadowy air
Lips unseen—and kissed me there.
坐在槲寄生下
（淺綠色，神仙槲寄生），
最後一個蠟燭燃燒低，
所有的困乏舞者消失了，
只是一支蠟燭燃燒時，
潛伏的陰影無處不在：
一些人來，吻著我
有時我累了，我的頭會
去槲寄生下點頭
（淺綠色，神仙槲寄生），
沒有腳步聲傳來，沒有發言權，
但只，
正如我坐在那裡，困倦，孤獨，
俯身在靜止和神出鬼沒的空氣看
不見的
嘴唇和吻了我那裡。
by Walter de la Mare (1913)
資料來源：http://poetry.about.com/library/weekly/bldelamarechristmas.htm
about.com
American mistletoe, the kind most
often associated with kissing, is one
of 1,300 species of mistletoe
worldwide but one of only two that
are native to the United States. The
other is dwarf mistletoe.
Twenty species of mistletoe are
endangered, so be careful what you
pluck from the forest for your next
holiday party.
Phoradendron, the scientific name for
American mistletoe, means "thief of the
tree" in Greek. Although not a true
parasite in scientific terms, mistletoe
comes close, sinking its roots into a host
tree and leeching nutrients from the tree
to supplement its own photosynthesis.
Sadly, the translation of the word
“mistletoe” itself isn’t very romantic.
A few centuries back, some people
apparently observed that mistletoe
tended to take root where birds had
left their droppings. “Mistal” is an
Anglo-Saxon word that means “dung”
and “tan” means “twig,” so mistletoe
actually means “dung on a twig.”
The growth of mistletoe had little to
do with the bird droppings, and a lot
to do with the birds themselves.
Mistletoe seeds are extremely sticky
and often latch onto birds’ beaks or
feathers or the fur of other woodland
creatures, hitchhiking to a likely host
tree before dropping off and starting to
germinate.
The dwarf mistletoe doesn’t have to
rely solely on hitchhiking to find a
host tree. The seeds of the dwarf
mistletoe can explode from ripe
berries and shoot as far as 50 feet.
Despite its parasitic tendencies,
mistletoe has been a natural part of
healthy forest ecosystems for millions
of years.
Mistletoe is toxic to people, but the
berries and leaves provide highprotein food for many animals. Many
bird species rely on mistletoe for
food and nesting material. Butterflies
lay their eggs on the plants and use
the nectar as food. Mistletoe is also
an important pollen and nectar plant
for bees.
資料來源：http://environment.about.com/od/environmentalevents/a/mistletoe.htm
about.com