General News
14 June, 2024
Barry's Corner
This is mistletoe season and a good time to pick some berries.
Most districts have trees with some of these parasites growing busily.
The small edible berries are in season right now and can be carefully harvested or made into another product.
Mistletoe is moved from tree to tree by a mistletoe bird, about the size of a swallow with a prominent flash of fairly bright red across the chest starting under the beak and running down to the chest.
It is an indigenous bird but is often blamed for killing trees.
A tree can be made to look quite bedraggled if it supports many growths.
The bird feeds on mistletoe seeds, then excretes a seed onto a tree branch.
This seed generally sticks to the tree, where it sprouts into another mistletoe.
It is not common to see the birds and they blend with the foliage but they squeak a lot so are more often only heard.
The nest is a flimsy one built with spider web suspended from a light branch and placed in a bushy clump of leaves.
A willy wagtail builds an upright nest of spider web more securely stuck onto the branch that looks more solid but the mistletoe bird's nest is a work of art.
A tree loaded with mistletoe looks to be in trouble, yet this parasite does not usually kill its host.
However, isolated trees can feel the pressure, which makes a good case of planting in clumps or linked connections.
Harvesting seed is slow work and you will never have been enough to make a meal because of the time tied up in picking the squishy fruit.
I have tried raking the fruit off using a hair comb with slightly wider teeth and I would think an old shearing handpiece would do a good job.
Over the years researchers have told us that is a pointless task going to the trouble of removing mistletoe because it can be growing back before you get the job done, and the flowers play an important role feeding some butterflies and moths.