Parasite !!
Taken for SSC 06/04/2019 - Trees .
I started out taking a shot of the curly wurly tree in our garden ( see link to view )
www.flickr.com/photos/149636765@N04/47489189682/in/datepo...
but was not happy with the clarity of the shot . However , on the approach to the local church there are a number of trees which look quite fascinating , none in leaf yet but so green with a parasitic growth forming globular green patches about four feet diameter . Hands up who knows what the growth is -- for those that are unsure , it is mistletoe !
I am not so sure what the main trees are but there is a good half dozen if not more covered with the bunches of mistletoe !!
Quite what made me choose sepia to present the shot I am not sure , but somehow I liked it .
Welcome to the Mistletoe Pages, a website packed with information about mistletoe; its biology, traditions, cultivation and conservation.
( taken from " The Mistletoe Pages " )
The site is mainly about the ‘original’ mistletoe of northern Europe, and concentrates mostly on its status, management, conservation and traditions in the UK.
This species is technically known as European White-berried Mistletoe, Viscum album. Most people just call it Mistletoe of course.
There are many other mistletoes around the world, including some others used in Christmas and midwinter celebrations, but Europe’s Viscum album is the original and, arguably, the best mistletoe.
Most popular traditions were originally based on this species, so it’s particularly important in folklore.
And it is the only mistletoe that has the distinctive forked branches, paired symmetrical evergreen leaves and pearlescent white berries associated with midwinter and Christmas.
But other mistletoe species feature in the website too, so do have a look around even if you don’t have the original mistletoe growing in your neighbourhood!
and from Wikipedia
Mistletoe is the English common name for most obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant. Their parasitic lifestyle have led to some dramatic changes in their metabolism.
The name mistletoe originally referred to the species Viscum album (European mistletoe, of the family Santalaceae in the order Santalales); it is the only species native to the British Isles and much of Europe. A separate species, Viscum cruciatum, occurs in Southwest Spain and Southern Portugal, as well as Morocco (North Africa) and southern Africa.
Over the centuries, the term has been broadened to include many other species of parasitic plants with similar habits, found in other parts of the world, that are classified in different genera and even families—such as the Misodendraceae and the Loranthaceae.
In particular, the eastern mistletoe native to North America, Phoradendron leucarpum, belongs to a distinct genus of the family Santalaceae. The genus Viscum is not native to North America, but Viscum album has been introduced to California. European mistletoe has smooth-edged, oval, evergreen leaves borne in pairs along the woody stem, and waxy, white berries that it bears in clusters of two to six. The Eastern mistletoe of North America is similar, but has shorter, broader leaves and longer clusters of 10 or more berries.
For Sight and Sound an obvious choice is Rush but as an extra one I have not heard before is Jon and Rick Wakeman
Parasite !!
Taken for SSC 06/04/2019 - Trees .
I started out taking a shot of the curly wurly tree in our garden ( see link to view )
www.flickr.com/photos/149636765@N04/47489189682/in/datepo...
but was not happy with the clarity of the shot . However , on the approach to the local church there are a number of trees which look quite fascinating , none in leaf yet but so green with a parasitic growth forming globular green patches about four feet diameter . Hands up who knows what the growth is -- for those that are unsure , it is mistletoe !
I am not so sure what the main trees are but there is a good half dozen if not more covered with the bunches of mistletoe !!
Quite what made me choose sepia to present the shot I am not sure , but somehow I liked it .
Welcome to the Mistletoe Pages, a website packed with information about mistletoe; its biology, traditions, cultivation and conservation.
( taken from " The Mistletoe Pages " )
The site is mainly about the ‘original’ mistletoe of northern Europe, and concentrates mostly on its status, management, conservation and traditions in the UK.
This species is technically known as European White-berried Mistletoe, Viscum album. Most people just call it Mistletoe of course.
There are many other mistletoes around the world, including some others used in Christmas and midwinter celebrations, but Europe’s Viscum album is the original and, arguably, the best mistletoe.
Most popular traditions were originally based on this species, so it’s particularly important in folklore.
And it is the only mistletoe that has the distinctive forked branches, paired symmetrical evergreen leaves and pearlescent white berries associated with midwinter and Christmas.
But other mistletoe species feature in the website too, so do have a look around even if you don’t have the original mistletoe growing in your neighbourhood!
and from Wikipedia
Mistletoe is the English common name for most obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant. Their parasitic lifestyle have led to some dramatic changes in their metabolism.
The name mistletoe originally referred to the species Viscum album (European mistletoe, of the family Santalaceae in the order Santalales); it is the only species native to the British Isles and much of Europe. A separate species, Viscum cruciatum, occurs in Southwest Spain and Southern Portugal, as well as Morocco (North Africa) and southern Africa.
Over the centuries, the term has been broadened to include many other species of parasitic plants with similar habits, found in other parts of the world, that are classified in different genera and even families—such as the Misodendraceae and the Loranthaceae.
In particular, the eastern mistletoe native to North America, Phoradendron leucarpum, belongs to a distinct genus of the family Santalaceae. The genus Viscum is not native to North America, but Viscum album has been introduced to California. European mistletoe has smooth-edged, oval, evergreen leaves borne in pairs along the woody stem, and waxy, white berries that it bears in clusters of two to six. The Eastern mistletoe of North America is similar, but has shorter, broader leaves and longer clusters of 10 or more berries.
For Sight and Sound an obvious choice is Rush but as an extra one I have not heard before is Jon and Rick Wakeman