COLUMBIA, S.C. — It's a Christmas tradition that goes back hundreds of years. When a couple passes under a mistletoe, they share a kiss. But the plant is anything but romantic in the wild. Mistletoe can be found in tree canopies across the world and absorbs nutrients from the trees, sometimes killing them.
This time of the year, finding a mistletoe can be as easy as looking up. It's a traditional Christmas decoration and a major plot device in movies and songs. It's where Harry Potter had his first kiss, it's where Mariah Carey wanted to keep waiting in her hit "All I Want for Christmas" and it's even the scene where Woody and Bo Peep kiss at the end of the first Toy Story movie.
But in the wild, mistletoe is actually a parasitic plant that lives its entire life on tree branches which it uses to absorb a tree's nutrients. Mistletoe can be hard to spot in the summertime when the bunches are hidden underneath a tree's canopy, but during the winter they're a common sight. If you notice a green ball of foliage on an otherwise bare tree, chances are it's a mistletoe!
Mistletoe and trees can live in harmony for many years, but if mistletoe gets a little too happy, it can take over a tree and kill even a mature canopy. Killing the very thing it needs to survive isn't ideal, but it is an important part of nature which helps give birds decaying branches to seek shelter in.
Birds love eating mistletoe berries and seeking shelter in the foliage. They unintentionally help spread mistletoe around by eating the berries, which are nutritious for birds, but very toxic to humans and most other animals.