Phoradendron leucarpum (Raf.) Reveal & M.C. Johnson
American Mistletoe
| Synonyms |
|
|---|---|
| Lower taxa | none |
| Origin | native |
| Growth habit | weak shrub, parasitic on a wide variety of deciduous species throughout its North American range |
| Habitat | Branches of black gum (Nyssa sylvatica) in moist woodlands and swamps. Rarely reported in New Jersey on sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua; 2 reports) and red maple (Acer rubrum; 3 reports). |
| Range | currently in the 7 southern counties; historically also in Middlesex and Monmouth Counties |
| Frequency | occasional; locally abundant |
| Rank | G5 N5 S2 |
| Status | New Jersey: threatened; Pinelands |
| Wetland status | None. Its distribution, however, is wholly dependent on facultative wetland to wetland distribution of black gum. Its status should be the same as its host. |
| Flowers present | September and October |
| Comments | The seeds are distributed by migrating birds. The seeds are poisonous, with possible medicinal use for blood and cancer treatments. This is the most common species of mistletoe in New Jersey, although it was nearly exterminated in the early 19th century. This plant was once common throughout the Coastal Plain. The natural northern distribution limits were once the lands surrounding Raritan Bay. Scattered old records (Stone, 1911; a 1932 specimen in Rutgers-Chrysler Herbarium) recall plants in southern Middlesex County on sweet gum. Chrysler Herbarium records document records for all seven southern counties, and verbal accounts from Witmer Stone's publication suggest Monmouth County was also part of the plant's habitat. Recent searches for the plant by the author have found colonies in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, and Salem counties. Most populations are within the Maurice River, Mullica, and Great Egg Harbor watersheds. My surveys found the plant exclusively on branches and trunks of black gum (Nyssa sylvatica). Reputable observers have provided oral records of the occasional mistletoe occurrence on red maple (Acer rubrum var. trilobum) as well. A single unsubstantiated record exists for Camden County on a white oak (Quercus alba). No recent records exist for any additional host trees in New Jersey. |