Viscum album

European mistletoe

Family: Viscaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

European mistletoe is a naturalized shrub found in the northern Coast Ranges of California, specifically in Sebastopol, Santa Rosa, and Sonoma County, at elevations of 60 to 100 meters. Flowering from February to March, this plant produces small, subtle flowers in clusters of 3 to 5 blossoms. Growing with pale green stems having internodes 3 to 8 centimeters long, it develops as a parasitic aerial shrub. Its leaves are fleshy, narrowly obovate, typically 5 to 8 centimeters long and about 1.5 centimeters wide, with a short or nearly indistinct petiole. The fruit is smooth and glabrous, contributing to its distinctive appearance as a persistent parasitic plant.

Habitat: On

Bloom period: Feb-Mar

Elevation: 60-100 m

Bioregions: NCoRO (Sebastopol, Santa Rosa, Sonoma Co.)

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.