Romantic Mistletoe

What is that green blob up in that sycamore tree? It is Mistletoe. Mistletoe is a strange plant. It attaches itself to a "host" tree. It lives off the nutrients inside the tree. Mistletoe has berries that are white. Birds can eat them, but not humans.

Research is being done to find out if chemicals in Mistletoe can be used in medicine. Some scientists think that these chemicals might stop cancer cells from growing. It would be AH-SUM if what they think is true.

Did you know many, many helpful drugs are made from plants? Tribal people would use plants to take care of hundreds of body illnesses. Plants would be used in many forms for health treatments. They would be dried, ground into powder, mixed with hot water, and made into tea. Or plants would be eaten. Plants would also be ground and added to oils to make "first aid" cream.

Maybe within a few years, the chemicals in Mistletoe will bring some relief to people with cancer or other health problems.

So Mistletoe maybe used as a drug. Did you know that it is used for romance?! Yup, let me explain. Has anyone ever hung a piece of mistletoe in your home during December? You're supposed to hang mistletoe over a door. The custom is that, when two people meet under the mistletoe, they must kiss! So, if you give a bag of mistletoe to someone you like, they'll get the idea ;) Do you have someone in mind?

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