Saturday Morning With Jack Tame

A few weeks ago, after that yucky and cold spell in the middle of winter, I was checking my mistletoe to see how it had been coping under those chilly and frosty conditions.  Looked okay, but there were a few bite marks on the leaves. Hmmm… nothing worrying about though.  Ileostylus micranthus is the green mistletoe I “planted” on my kowhai bush a few years ago now.   The sticky seeds should be adhered to the twigs of the host plant and with a bit of luck the mistletoe will settle itself on that host plant by sending its “roots” (haustoria) into the host plant. The Mistletoe can then draw its nutrients from the host.  That makes it a “parasite”.  Under normal circumstances, the sticky seeds are “planted” by birds. They simply try to eat the seeds but often end up wiping their bill clean on the host plant.  Clever plant!  My neighbour across the road also has a green mistletoe, but his specimen is situated on a Coprosma virescens bush known by its Māori name as “Mingimingi”. A gorgeous native shrub with a diva