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The Conversation
The Conversation
Environment
Janice Lord, Associate Professor in Botany, University of Otago

NZ mistletoes are parasites but not villains – they’re vital for birds and insects during winter

New Zealand
Janice Lord, CC BY-SA

Mistletoes are the stuff of myth and legend, vilified for providing the arrow that shot Norse god Balder, but venerated in Celtic and Roman mythology as protection against dark forces.

It is no wonder – mistletoes are unlike any other plant. All species in the mistletoe family, Loranthaceae, are parasites.

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