Douglas' dwarf mistletoe (Douglas fir dwarf mistletoe)
Santalaceae (Christmas Mistletoe family)
(Previously in Viscaceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
Species Information
General:
Perennial parasitic shrub; stems bluish or bluish-green, smooth, 0.5-3 cm long; segments about 1 mm thick or less; accessory branches, if any, usually in 1 plane, the branches at each node fanlike.
Flowers:
Male flowers about 2 mm wide, greenish to yellow, terminal on short, stalk-like joints, usually 2 per node, the buds egg-shaped, the perianth lobes rounded on the backs; female flowers 2 per node, short-stalked.
Fruits:
Berries, egg-shaped, about 3 mm long, greenish to bluish, usually 1-seeded, mucilaginous, maturing the 2nd summer.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Habitat and Range
Parasitic on Pseudotsuga in the montane zone; infrequent in SC and SE BC; S to TX, NM, AZ and CA.Status Information
Taxonomic Keys
1. Flowers unstalked or the female ones with stalks up to 1 mm long, usually in pairs at each node; stems over over 2 mm thick and at least 3 cm long; plants parasitic on many genera of Pinaceae.................Arceuthobium campylopodium
1. Flowers terminal on short lateral branches, the branches bearing the male flowers often more than 2 per node; stems scarcely as much as 2 mm thick and usually less than 3 cm long; plants parasitic on Pinus or Pseudotsuga. 2. Secondary branches of twigs lying in the same plane, thus flat and fanlike; stems scarcely 1 mm thick; plants parasitic on Pseudotsuga......................Arceuthobium douglasii 2. Secondary branches of twigs distinctly whorled, not fanlike; stems over 1 mm thick; plants parasitic on Pinus...............................Arceuthobium americanum |