DARE you risk a kiss under the mistletoe this festive season?
One problem people might have if they’re game is actually finding some.
However now Worcestershire wildlife Trust has launched a county wide search for sightings of the festive plant is growing – and they like locals to take a photo and send it in them when they find it.
The Trust is trying to plot where mistletoe is growing with staff and volunteers hoping to plug gaps on maps on where it’s found as well as to discover whether it’s more prolific in different trees in different parts of the county.
Organiser Nick Packham said: “As part of a wider project to record where our wildlife is across the county, we’re asking residents to get involved in helping us to map where mistletoe grows.
“Mistletoe was last surveyed more than 30 years ago so we’re keen to know if it’s still found in the same places and whether it’s now found in new places.
“Records of plants and animals often reflect the wanderings of nature recorders rather than true distribution so by harnessing the power of local people, we hope to fill in some of the blank spaces on our maps.
“Worcestershire, along with our neighbouring counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, is a hotspot for mistletoe so we’d expect to find it in most villages and many suburbs.
“Whilst it’s popular in Christmas wreaths and garlands, it’s also a really important plant for wildlife throughout the year – the leaves provide food and shelter to many insects from spring to autumn and the berries are an important source of food for birds at this time of year.”
Mistletoe is partially parasitic on its host tree – it is able to manufacture its own sugars but steals water and other minerals from the tree.
“There is no evidence that the plant does any damage to its host tree unless a branch has huge amounts of mistletoe, in which case it may show signs of wilting.
The seeds of mistletoe are spread mainly by birds who eat the berries and either spread the seed by wiping their beaks on other trees or by depositing digested seeds in their droppings.
Mistletoe plants are either female or male but it is only the female plants that produce the berries.
Nick added “We already know that in Worcestershire mistletoe has been recorded in almost 30 species of tree. It’s most common in fruit, hawthorn, poplar and lime trees.
“As well as letting us know where it’s growing, we’d also appreciate it if people could let us know what tree it’s growing in.
We’d like to see if there’s a bias towards different host trees in different parts of the county and whether or not anyone has spotted it growing in oak.
“Photos of the mistletoe and its host tree can be uploaded via a short form on our website and we have a brilliant team of volunteers who are sifting through the records and helping us to fill these gaps in our knowledge.”
Residents are asked to take a photo of any mistletoe they see and upload it via the Trust’s website www.worcswildlifetrust.co.uk/wildlife-sightings where more information about recording wildlife can be found.
The survey is being undertaken in partnership with Worcestershire Biological Records Centre, the repository for natural history sightings in the county, and the Worcestershire Recorders, a group of volunteers whose records and research help with a better understanding of the status of wildlife in Worcestershire.
