Phoradendron californicum (Desert Mistletoe)
Phoradendron californicum (Desert Mistletoe) with green stems and tiny yellow flowers tangled in a dense mass
Botanical name: Phoradendron californicum
Common names: Desert Mistletoe, Mesquite Mistletoe
Family: Santalaceae
Origin: California, Arizona
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map
USDA Zone: 9-10
Plant type: Fruit or edible
Fruit type: Fruit or edible
Plant form: Small
Mature height: 2-5 ft
Sun exposure: Full sun or bright light indoor
Cold tolerance: Frost sensitive. Protect from freezing.
Watering: Dry conditions
Suitable for: Outdoors in the suitable USDA zone; small gardens, containers, and indoor growing
Irritating or toxic: Toxic plant/plant part
Fragrance: Fragrant; perfume plant
Wildlife: Attracts butterflies and hummingbirds
Ethnomedical: Ethnomedical plant, traditionally used in folk or indigenous medicinePhoradendron californicum is a leafless plant that attaches to host plants, often leguminous woody desert trees such as Cercidium and Prosopis.
The plants are dioecious with tiny, inconspicuous, yellowish flowers. The female plants produce numerous, spherical, translucent, white, pink, or red berries that are adored by fruit-eating birds.
Desert Mistletoe plants, but not the berries, contain phoratoxins which can easily lead to death. The white to reddish fruits are edible, but native tribes ate only the fruits of mistletoes growing on Prosopis, Olneya tesota or Acacia greggii.
Phoradendron californicum (Desert Mistletoe) with tiny yellow flowers covering thin green stems in tangle
Phoradendron californicum (Desert Mistletoe) with yellow flower clusters nestled among thin tangled green stem segments
Link to this plant:
https://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/phoradendron_californicum.htm