Mistletoe-laden lime tree, Montpellier Gardens, Cheltenham

Image: © Tom Jolliffe Taken: 28 Jan 2010

The mistletoe has proliferated in this lime tree in the Montpellier Gardens in Cheltenham. Mistletoe is noticed most when the trees are bare. Mistletoe has a reputation for being toxic. About.com: Chemistry states the following: "The answer is: it depends on the type of mistletoe and what part you eat. There are several species of mistletoe. The Pharoadendron species contain a toxin called phoratoxin, which can cause blurred vision, nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, blood pressure changes, and even death. The Viscum species of mistletoe contain a slightly different cocktail of chemicals, including the poisonous alkaloid tyramine, which produce essentially the same symptoms. Although mistletoe has therapeutic uses, eating any part of the plant (particularly the leaves or berries) or drinking a tea from the plant can result in sickness and possibly death." Other sources claim that mistletoe is not very dangerous. On the whole, it seems best to err on the side of safety and to avoid ingesting it in any form.

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