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More than you want to know about mistletoe

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Most people know if they are caught under the mistletoe to kiss the person next to them, but many don't know it grows from bird droppings, a U.S. botanist says.

Sylvia Orli of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington said the word mistletoe is from the Anglo-Saxon word "mist" or "mistel," meaning dung, and "tan," meaning twig, or "dung twig," because mistletoe is mostly spread by birds through their droppings.

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The plant, found mainly in tropical or temperate areas, is a species of parasitic plants, Orli said.

"Birds also squeeze mistletoe seeds from fruit before eating them and wipe the seeds on a branch," Orli said in a statement. "Mistletoe seeds are covered in a sticky substance so they stay put on a limb until they sprout."

Mistletoe is semi-parasitic -- meaning it invades a living branch of a host tree or bush with a shallow root and absorbs food, minerals and water and also produces food through photosynthesis in its evergreen leaves.

Mistletoe is considered a pest in many areas of the world and a host tree or bush heavily infested with mistletoe can be stunted or even die. However, mistletoe is a food source and a nesting area for birds, Orli explained.

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