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The supernatural association with mistletoe was echoed by the Romans when it became a sign of sex and fertility. This may be a possible justification for the current British tradition of exchanging a kiss under the mistletoe.

However, our ritual is more plausibly derived from Scandinavian legends, which hold that the God of Peace was shot with an arrow laced in mistletoe. When restored to health, the Goddess of Love assumed the responsibility for keeping mistletoe safe. Anyone to then pass under the mistletoe plant was to receive a kiss to reverse the omen and transform it from a plant of hate, to one of love.

In Christian folklore it is said that the cross of Christ was made from mistletoe and the plant subsequently wilted in shame and compelled to bestow good fortune on those that walk beneath it.

Despite this romantic and supernatural history, mistletoe is in fact a true parasite, deriving its only nutrition from its host. Its biological name is Vicsum album and it is also known as Golden Bough and Birdlime. The evergreen plant grows in the branches of deciduous trees and has a preference for those with soft bark. Its roots are woody and thick and it forms pendent bushes around three feet in diameter, blossoming white berry fruit that matures to red in the month of December.

The name 'mistletoe' is derived from ancient observation of the plant when it would seem to spontaneously develop berries after birds had perched on its branches – directly translated from Anglo-Saxon, 'mistletoes' literally means dung-on-a-twig.

Mistletoe belongs to the Loranthaceae family of plants and is found in Europe and America. A number of different varieties of Vicsum also grow elsewhere, several of which are local to South Africa.

Although the plant has been used for medicinal purposes since the 16th century – mainly to relax taut muscles and improve circulation – mistletoe is considered highly toxic and the FDA has banned the internal consumption of related herbal products.

Parts used

• Leaves
• Young twigs
• Berries

Constituents

• Mucilage
• Sugar
• Fixed oil
• Resin – the active ingredient called Viscin, producing a sticky mass when fermented
• Tannin
• Selected salts

Forms


• Fluid extract
• Powdered leaves
• Tincture with spirit from the leaves and ripe berries

In South Africa the following herbal preparations of mistletoe are available:


• Mistletoe Herb Cut
• Mistletoe Herb Powder

Medicinal uses of mistletoe


• Nervine
• Antispasmodic
• Tonic
• Narcotic
• Epilepsy and other convulsive nervous disorders – in large doses mistletoe can induce convulsions
• Haemorrhage
• Delirium
• Hysteria
• Neuralgia
• Urinary problems
• Heart disease
• Typhoid fever

Dosage
Do not use without medical supervision

Safety
Mistletoe is highly toxic and the FDA considers the plant unsafe. Do not use any mistletoe medicinally without appropriate medical supervision.
 

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