"The etymology of mistletoe a plant with small, oval evergreen leaves and waxy white berries likely comes from the Anglo-Saxon words for manure "mist" or "mistel" and "tan" (sometimes rendered as "toe"), meaning "twig" or "stick." "It literally means bird poop on a twig," according to Susie Dent, a British lexicographer and author of Guilt by Definition. The name stems from the way its seeds are carried by birds and dropped after passing through their digestive tract."
"For mistletoe seeds, that location happens to be the tops of trees. From an evolutionary standpoint, Seidler says, species survival can depend on getting seeds away from the parent plant. "Any seeds that land near their parent plant may germinate," he explains. "But they're almost certainly going to be wiped out by disease because those areas tend to be crowded and small plants are very susceptible to their own pathogens.""
Mistletoe derives from Anglo-Saxon terms 'mist' or 'mistel' (manure) and 'tan' (twig), literally meaning bird droppings on a twig. Birds eat the berries, the seeds pass through their digestive tracts, and the seeds are deposited on branches where they germinate; this seed dispersal process is called endozoochory. Seeds that remain near the parent plant face higher risks from crowding and species-specific pathogens, so dispersal increases survival. Mistletoe commonly establishes on tree crowns. Humans incorporated mistletoe into seasonal rituals, with the oldest customs likely connected to winter solstice celebrations.
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