December 6, 2010; Source: UK National Trust | The National Trust, the British charity dedicated to the preservation and public access to buildings of historic or architectural interest and land of natural beauty, has launched a Christmas campaign to urge the public to purchase home-grown mistletoe for their homes and office parties.
Citing a decline in the plant’s main habitat—traditional orchards in Somerset, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire—the Trust is fretting that mistletoe may disappear from large swathes of England, leading to sharp increases in prices and—horrors—imports from France. More seriously, mistletoe supports wildlife, providing winter food for birds and insects.
Sign up for our free newsletters
Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.
If all else fails, you can always grow your own mistletoe. A dedicated “Mistletoe Gateway” features many aspects of the hemi-parasitic plant, including biology, conservation, control, traditions, harvesting, medicinal usage and traditions in art nouveau. There’s even a Mistletoe News Blog. Disappointingly, we could find no pictures of smooching.—Timothy Lyster