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Beltaine '08 Treasure Hunt: Mystic Mistletoe
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 Mistletoe is an evergreen parasitic plant that likes best to grow on oak branches, although it will also grow on apple, hazel, crab apple, maple, willow, lime and hawthorn. Its greenish yellow flowers appear in the spring and the white berries in the fall. The berries produce a sticky goo known as bird-lime. This plant cannot be cultivated like other plants, which is why the ancients considered it unique and sacred. Mistletoe spreads as one of its berries is "planted" by a bird (the thrush is the greatest planter of mistletoe because they love to devour its berries) in the bark of a tree, where the berry shoots out a threadlike root that attaches to the wood. As the mistletoe grows it works as a true parasite, taking everything it needs directly from the tree. It is possible to try to grow mistletoe by rubbing its berries on the underside of a smooth branch until they stick there, or place the berries into niches in the tree, but there's no guarantee it will be successful. Mistletoe is almost unknown in Scotland but found throughout Europe and Britain, and grows especially well in Brittany. In Brittany it is called Herbe de la Croix (herb of the cross) because legend has it Christ's cross was made of mistletoe wood, which is why thereafter it was condemned to live as a parasite. The juice of mistletoe berrie, according to Culpeper, is good for ripening hard tumors and swellings. It is anti-tumor, cardiotonic, and hypotensive. With valerian root and vervain in equal parts, it is a good tonic for the nerves. (Fedelm Cruithni created the mistletoe plaque especially for the Beltaine '08 Treasure Hunt.) |
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~ Table of Contents ~
Feverfew
Lavender Ladybugs Thyme Bay Laurel Mint Answers to Spring Equinox Quix Dandelion for Spring Tonic Nettles for Spring Sun-Infused Calendula Healing Salve Fiddleheads Daffodil Quiz Beltaine '08 Treasure Hunt: APPLE Beltaine '08 Treasure Hunt: BOX SPRIGS Beltaine '08 Treasure Hunt: Hawthorn Beltaine '08 Treasure Hunt: Magical Fern Seeds Beltaine Treasure Hunt '08 - GARLIC Beltaine '08 Treasure Hunt: FLAX BLOSSOMS Beltaine '08 Treasure Hunt: GREEN WHEAT EARS Beltaine Treasure Hunt '08: THE CHARM OF IVY Beltaine Treasure Hunt '08: MARIGOLDS AND MAIDENS Beltaine '08 Treasure Hunt: THE SACRED OAK Beltaine '08 Treasure Hunt: VERVAIN |
