Viscum album in the context of "Mistletoe"

Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant. There are hundreds of species which mostly live in tropical regions.

The name mistletoe originally referred to the species Viscum album (European mistletoe, of the family Santalaceae in the order Santalales); it is the only species native to the British Isles and much of Europe. A related species with red fruits, rather than white, Viscum cruciatum, occurs in Southwest Spain and Southern Portugal, as well as in Morocco in North Africa and in southern Africa. There is also a wide variety of species in Australia. The genus Viscum is not native to North America, but Viscum album was introduced to Northern California in 1900.