-Martin de Albuquerque in Notes and Queries, 1865
AKA: The golden bough and birdlime.
Parts Used: Leaves, flowers, and young twigs.
Medicinal Properties: Antispasmodic, emmenagogue, emetic, diuretic, nervine, oxytocic, and tonic.
Effects on the Body: American mistletoe: Stimulates uterine contractions, raises blood pressure, relaxes nerves, and contains tumor-inhibiting proteins. European mistletoe: Heart stimulant, will first raise then lower blood pressure; stimulates glands, and contains tumor-inhibiting proteins.
Abortifacient Action: Stimulates uterus to relaxation and contraction.
Contains: Amines, beta-phenylethylamine and tyramine protein substances called lectins or toxalbumins (phoratoxin); viscin, choline, sugar, a fixed oil, tannin, and various salts.
Description: American mistletoe, Phoradendron flavescens, is a native North American parasitic shrub that can grow on all deciduous trees, from New Jersey south to Florida, westward to Missouri and New Mexico. It is also found in northern California to coastal British Columbia. American mistletoe has strong smooth branches that tend to be brittle at the base. Occurring in opposite pairs, leaves are leathery, dark green, and obovate, up to 3 in. (7.6 cm) long. From May to July, small white flowers appear which mature into white sticky round, ¾ in. (2 cm) diameter berries, each containing 1 seed. European mistletoe, Viscum album, is a native from northwest Europe to China and south to Iran. European mistletoe is a parasitic shrub that can grow on all deciduous trees. European mistletoe has regularly branching stems, up 3 ft. (1 m) long. The 2 in. (5 cm) long leaves are light green, leathery, and blunt and occur in opposite pairs. Flowers mature into small, ½ in. (1.25 cm) diameter, white sticky berries.
Native American women of northern California used mistletoe leaf infusion during labor to regulate contractions, quiet the nerves, expel the placenta, and arrest hemorrhage. The Pomo Native American women used a decoction of leaves and an infusion of roots of the American mistletoe to promote menstruation. The Kawaiisu Native American women used an infusion of American mistletoe plant growing on the Douglas oak tree during the first two months of pregnancy to cause an abortion.[301] Native American women living in northern California were documented as having said that mistletoe leaf abortifacient infusion from mistletoe growing on a buckeye tree was better than that found growing on other trees.[302]
Members of the North American voodoo religion carry mistletoe as a love charm and amulet. In the voodoo religion, mistletoe is sacred to the sensual and the pleasure-loving voodoo Loa Erzulie, a goddess of love.[303] Erzulie is, protector of women, representative of seduction and fertility and is often compared to the Greek goddess Aphrodite.[304]
American mistletoe is known to cause an increase in uterine and intestinal contractions and also an increase in blood pressure. Mistletoe has been shown to increase uterine contractions in non-pregnant cats.[305] The abortifacient effects of mistletoe are attributed to ribosome inhibiting proteins (RIPs). RIPs halt cellular metabolism by inhibiting the final stage of protein production in the cell.[306]
European mistletoe was a sacred plant to the Celtic druids, being the golden key (phallus) that gave access to the magical powers of the underworld (womb of the mother earth). Growing on a branch of the oak tree, raised high above the earth, the evergreen (immortal) Mistletoe, with its white, sticky, semen-like berries, was symbolic of the genitals of the oak god to the druids.
The sacred oak god was a lover of the three-fold moon goddess. At the full moon after the winter solstice, the druids would sacrificially castrate the oak god by cutting off his mistletoe with a golden moon sickle, and catching the falling mistletoe in a white cloth, before it touched the ground. The gathering of the abortive mistletoe was symbolic of the woman’s moon energy keyed into the magical powers of the underworld (earth mother) energy sufficient to cut off (castrate) the life power of the sexual act and hold the life spirit suspended in the spirit world, between heaven and earth. A sexual celebration ensued after the gathering of the mistletoe. Each worshiper took some of the cut mistletoe home to use to keep away ‘evil spirits.’ Some of the protective mistletoe was hung in the home by the druids and more was made into magical drinks that were known to heal all illness, give strength and courage, render all poisons ineffective, and make both humans and animals fertile.[307]
Like so many abortifacients anciently associated with orgiastic ceremonies, mistletoe gained an aphrodisiacal reputation. In England and Ireland, mistletoe was held to have the power to revitalize the sexual organs.
With the advent of Christianity, women and the symbols of powerful women were propagandized to be evil. Christianized Saxons, who had previously associated mistletoe in a manner similar to the Celtic druids, are recorded as claiming that mistletoe was the “forbidden tree in the middle of the trees of Eden.”[308] Until the mid 20th century, mistletoe was banned in England’s churches, as it was considered to be a symbol of pagan worship.[309]
Gathering: The leafy young branches are gathered from late autumn to December. They may be processed into tinctures immediately or dried in the shade and stored in an airtight container.
Preparation: American mistletoe’s abortive action is believed to result from the stimulation of the uterus and intestines causing intense contractions. Conversely, European mistletoe’s abortive action is believed to result from its antispasmodic action on smooth muscles (like the uterus and intestines). American and European mistletoe are often used singly as a simple, but they have been combined with other herbs to produce various results. American and European mistletoe’s dosage is the same. Mistletoe is most effective if used in early pregnancy.
Words to the Wise: Mistletoe’s abortion producing dose is precariously close to its fatal dose. Some women have died attempting to produce an abortion using high dosages of mistletoe. Anyone taking antidepressant MAO inhibitors (such as Marplan, Nardil, and Parnate) should not use mistletoe. The combination of these drugs and mistletoe may result in serious elevation of blood pressure and possibly unconsciousness.[310] Anyone with a history of stroke or heart disease should not use mistletoe due to its tendency to increase blood pressure. Mistletoe berries may cause contact dermatitis in sensitive individuals. Do not eat mistletoe berries. Mistletoe berries, in large amounts, may cause gastroenteritis in adults, and there are cases where children have died due to ingestion of mistletoe berries.
Watch for Signs of Toxicity Specific to Mistletoe: Headache, hallucinations, nausea, acute cramping, gastroenteritis, vomiting, diarrhea, weak pulse, decreased heart rate, muscle spasms and convulsions. At high doses, death typically occurs from cardiovascular collapse within ten hours of ingestion.
301
Daniel E. Moerman,
302
V. K. Chestnut, “Plants used by the Indians of Mendocino County, California,”
303
Christian Ratsch,
305
K. Kelles, R. Hanser, and R.F. Chandler, eds., “Phoradendron Flavescens,”
306
J. Bruneton, (C.K. Hatton, trans.),
307
Christian Ratsch,