MISTLETOE-CUSTOM DATES BACK TO 17th CENTURY

In Focus – By CR Brown

For all the romantics out there, opportunities abound for stealing a kiss from that special someone during the upcoming Holiday Season if this year’s growth of mistletoe is any indication. A leisurely drive through South-central Alabama will highlight the fact that mistletoe is alive and thriving in the Wiregrass.

The tree pictured above is infested with mistletoe and is located on Highway 29 north midway between Heath and Gantt Dam.

If you intend to harvest a bit of mistletoe for the Christmas Season, a casual walk in most any direction will put you well within range of Phoradendron leucarpum, which is Greek for “thief of the tree.” That is an apt description, since mistletoe is considered to be parasitic and is unable to survive and grow on its own. Instead, it requires a host tree from which to steal all of its nutrients; oaks, elms, poplars and apple trees, to name a few, serve that purpose well. Mistletoe has also been known to flourish in Pecan trees.

Mistletoe reproduces when a seed finds its way to a good host prospect. Upon sprouting, it attaches a bell-shaped root structure that grows into the tree, robbing it of its nutrients. Because it sometimes drains the host tree of its life juices, it occasionally is referred to as the “Vampire plant.”

While insects and bees pollinate mistletoe, birds actually disperse the seeds by eating mature fruits which are difficult to digest. Some unharmed seeds that pass through the bird’s digestive tract often end up lodged in crevices where they attach to the host tree.

Meanwhile, mistletoe berries usually ripen by November, changing from green to translucent or to a pearly white color. And, to be on the safe side, it would be wise to keep the ripening fruit out of reach of young children and pets since it can be poisonous if ingested.

The custom of kissing beneath a sprig or branch of mistletoe dates back several hundreds of years, by some accounts even to the 17th century and earlier. The act of stealing a kiss was never meant to get out of hand, of course, but often did. However, to prevent abuses of the custom, when a man stole a kiss under a hanging branch, a berry was pinched off and thrown away. When all the berries had been pinched off, the magic of the mistletoe was considered to be all used up.

It was also believed that mistletoe, when hung in the home, signified romance, happiness and even peace. In fact, it was the custom of the times for warring enemies to drop their weapons and embrace if a chance meeting should occur beneath the plant.

AMATEUR BOTANIST BROUGHT THEM TO THE U.S.

In Focus - by CR Brown


Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas at all…without Poinsettias.

And we have Joel Roberts Poinsett, amateur botanist and first United States Ambassador to Mexico, to thank for introducing the plant to this country in 1825. The Ambassador, who was appointed to his post by John Quincy Adams, became fascinated with the plant that the Aztecs called “Cuetlaxochit.”

In fact, Montezuma, the last of the Aztec Kings, had poinsettias delivered by caravan to what is now called Mexico City, since they would not grow at the higher altitudes. From the 14th through the 16th centuries, the Aztecs used the sap to control fever and the bracts (leaves) were used to make red dye.

Meanwhile, the legend of the poinsettia dates back to a Christmas Eve several centuries ago when a little peasant girl by the name of Pepita had no gift to present to the Christ Child, as was the custom at that time. At the urging of her cousin Pedro to present a humble gift, she stopped along the road and gathered some weeds. Miraculously, as Pepita approached the alter with the weeds, they blossomed into brilliant red flowers. They were given the name Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night. They are, of course, known today as poinsettias.

Many believe the poinsettia plant to be poisonous to humans and pets, but that is not the case according to researchers at Ohio State University. Their scientific conclusion was that a typical child would have to “consume 500-600 leaves in order to exceed the experimental doses that found no toxicity.” However, as with any non-food product not intended for consumption, it should be kept out of reach of curious young children and pets.

The poinsettias pictured above were found at Howell’s Nursery & Landscaping, which is located on Highway 29 north of Andalusia, Alabama. According to co-owner Kim Pebworth, upwards to 750 plants will be sold during this Holiday Season through their business alone. However, that number pales by comparison to the number sold by the Ecke Family of southern California. They have grown tens of thousands of poinsettias annually in recent years for landscape and cut flower use, making them by far the leading producer in the US.

Upon the death of Poinsett in 1851, December 12 was set aside as National Poinsettia Day to honor the man and the plant that he made famous.