Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Santalales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Phoradendron leucarpum ssp. leucarpum
FAMILY
Santalaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read about Eastern Mistletoe from Lytton Musselman and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
Read more about Mistletoe at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Phoradendron is the mistletoe familiar in e. United States as a Christmas decoration. The white berries of P. leucarpum are extremely poisonous. Read more in Weakley's Flora (2023).
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Phoradendron leucarpum
FAMILY
Viscaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Phoradendron leucarpum
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 12 (2016)
Phoradendron leucarpum
SYNONYMOUS WITH New combinations in Phoradendron leucarpum (Viscaceae) (Abbott & Thompson, 2011)
Phoradendron serotinum ssp. serotinum
INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Phoradendron leucarpum
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 061-01-001:
Phoradendron serotinum FAMILY Loranthaceae
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Phoradendron eatonii
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Phoradendron flavescens
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Phoradendron macrotomum
COMMON NAME:
American Mistletoe, Christmas Mistletoe
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_phfl2_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0301a_09a
January Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm0302b_07
February Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0402f_05
February Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm130224_300
February Pickens County SC
SC Botanical Garden
)
JK Marlow s041216_a
December Pickens County SC
Greenish branches with opposite, oblong, leathery leaves, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Phoradendron leucarpum ssp. leucarpum
FAMILY
Santalaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Phoradendron leucarpum
FAMILY
Viscaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Phoradendron leucarpum
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 12
Phoradendron leucarpum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
New combinations in Phoradendron leucarpum (Viscaceae) (Abbott & Thompson, 2011)
Phoradendron serotinum ssp. serotinum
INCLUDED WITHIN
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Phoradendron leucarpum
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 061-01-001:
Phoradendron serotinum
FAMILY
Loranthaceae
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Phoradendron eatonii
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Phoradendron flavescens
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Phoradendron macrotomum
1067
Shrub; Subshrub
Perennial
Dioecious
Habitat: Parasitic on various species of trees, especially abundant in swamp forests (perhaps because they are less frequently cut and have older, more mature hardwoods), per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon in Piedmont & Mountains)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Winter/SpringFall
Greenish
Radially symmetrical
Petals absent
Unisexual
FRUIT:
Winter/SpringFall
White
Berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p295
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p447
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p100
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p057
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p119
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p297
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p232
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p265
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