Information on Loughborough

Mistletoe Is for Life, Not Just for Christmas

Posted on 17/02/2009

Charnwood Borough Councils nature conservation experts are looking for volunteers to help save an endangered population of mistletoe.

An ancient mistletoe population that at one time flourished in Loughboroughs Thorpe Acre is in danger of disappearing as the trees that support it come to the end of their lives.

Thorpe Acre was at one time the site of an extensive orchard, with many of the orchard trees supporting mistletoe. Although the orchard has now disappeared there are still some surviving fruit trees in the area that were incorporated into private gardens when the estate was built, and many of these trees still have mistletoe growing on them.

Isolated plant populations can be important because they are often genetically unique, mistletoe is not a common plant in Leicestershire, and so the remnant population in Thorpe acre should be preserved.

Charnwood Borough Councils Wildlife Development Officer, Mark Graham, said: "We would like volunteers with suitable host trees to come forward and claim some berries. Mistletoe is a sky bound plant that never touches the ground. The mistletoe seeds are carried from tree to tree by birds, the sticky white residue inside the berry fixing the seed to the new tree.

"If you have a tree in your garden that youd like to see mistletoe growing on, but the birds arent cooperating, why not have a go at growing it yourself. Mistletoe will grow on most deciduous trees, though it is most commonly found on apple, poplar, lime, rowan and hawthorn and is least likely to succeed on oak.

If youd like to have a go at growing your own mistletoe, Charnwood Wildlife can provide berries and advise on planting. For further information telephone Loughborough 01509 634976