Plants of the Castlemaine District

Harlequin Mistletoe - native (Lysiana exocarpi)

Home..... Menu..... Common name index..... Scientific name index..... Glossary ..... Other mistletoes

mistletoe

Family: Loranthaceae (Mistletoe family).

Uncommon near Castlemaine. It grows on non-eucalypt species such as wattles, sheokes and emu bushes.

It is a hemi-parasite; it relies on the host plant for water and minerals, but has chlorophyll and is able to make its own sugars and other carbohydrates.

Identification:

  • the flowers are narrow and red-green, and upward-pointing
  • the leaves are narrow, but distinctly flattened.

    • Name: exocarpi: Exocarpus, the tree on which this mistletoe was first found.

    Harlequin Mistletoe. All at Carisbrook, here growing on Buloke.

    mtmt