Nature Notes

Was mistletoe part of your decorations last Christmas? It has long been associated with Yuletide but our fascination with this curious semi-parisitic plant extends back to druidic and even to prehistoric times. In spite of a Christian myth that the Cross was made from mistletoe wood and that the former tree shrank to its present size from shame, it remained irredeemably pagan. Over the years it came to be credited with an assortment of powers: it was said to be a remedy against poisons, to banish evil spirits and to aid infertile couples: if they plucked a berry and then kissed beneath a bough they would be blessed with a child.

The plant does grow in this country on a variety of trees, particularly favouring apple, poplar and plum, but most of our Christmas mistletoe comes from France, where it grows prolifically and is covered with berries. Our own mistletoe will have been stripped bare by mistle thrushes long before Christmas. They spread the plants by wiping their beaks on the tree bark to remove the sticky pulp, leaving the seeds behind. If you happen to have any berries left after Christmas, you could try and propagate some on an apple tree by pushing a berry into the bark quite high on the tree, making sure you also rub off the gel.

Bird watchers will have been interested to hear of the recent sighting of a small group of bitterns not far from central London. Once common, they are now extremely rare in this country, but there are signs of a revival as the R.S.P.B. has been creating new reed-beds. We may one day hear their 'booming' again.

Liz Jones