Some species of the plant are toxic to humans too, if ingested.

Though illegal in many parts of the world, some countries still use this method to capture wild birds for eating. Coils of the sticky substance are placed on tree branches. Birdlime, or a juice made from mistletoe berries, is used as an adhesive to trap small birds. It’s a plant that kills in more ways than one. Some versions claim he came back to life, and his mother, Frigg, cried tears that turned into mistletoe berries and then declared the plant to be symbolic of love. In Norse mythology, the plant plays a key part in a story with a violent conclusion the god Balder is killed by his blind brother, Hoor, with, of all things, a mistletoe projectile. That plant you’re kissing under could be a … “dung-twig.”Īnother tradition that has raised questions before is, why do we sing “Auld Lang Syne” on New Year’s? Let’s find out! The dark side of the mistletoe So we can safely say this has nothing whatsoever to do with your toes. Because mistletoe can be spread through birds’ feces, it is possible that mistel derives from an obsolete, Germanic-derived noun mix, meaning “dung, filth.” The word mistletoe comes from the Old English misteltan, with tan meaning “twig” and mistel meaning, well, “mistletoe.” (Middle English speakers apparently confused tan as the plural of ta, “toe,” which is how we ultimately get mistletoe).Īs for the roots of mistel, that etymology is obscure, though the word has cousins in Germanic languages.

One way to harvest mistletoe is to climb high in the tree to get the clusters another way is to blast them out with a shotgun. The song title Buttercup I think conveys the same meaning as the song 'Build me up buttercup' A guy trying to work things out in relationship but to find himself being let down and disappointed, but since he cannot leave her little poison, 'fine, electrify mine, electrify my golden tooth (maybe stands for something precious, I. Mistletoe can cause Witches’-broom, a symptom of a disease that results in clusters of weak shoots, in the host tree. Mistletoe is a plant that grows parasitically on trees. What is this tradition of kissing under a plant all about? And does the name have anything to do with human toes? What is mistletoe?

If you celebrate Christmas, it’s likely that at some point this season you’ll find yourself puckering up under a mistletoe branch.

Buttercup meaning