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The mistletoe plant is largely known for a manufactured characteristic: It’s the green sprig with white berries that hangs in doorways during Christmas time, requiring those who meet beneath to kiss.

But here’s the thing about this festive accessory: It’s a parasite.

Yes, the mistletoe attaches itself to other plants and sucks the life out. It’s also one of the few plants that actually propel its seeds (at speeds up to 60 miles an hour) out of its own berries. As a home and food source for birds, butterflies and bees, the mistletoe plant is a crucial part of the world’s food chain. Being a makeout-instigator may be the least interesting thing about mistletoe.

Todd Esque is a research ecologist for the U.S. Geological Survey based in Henderson, Nevada with over 30 years of experience studying desert tortoises, with forays into Mojave ground squirrels, Joshua trees and rare cactuses. He’s also fascinated with mistletoe. Whenever Esque travels, he keeps his eyes peeled for mistletoe-related research and tries to learn all he can in order to be a resource on the plant.

In the early 2000s, Esque was asked to assist a graduate student who was studying the plant; at the time the assignment almost seemed like a mistake to Esque, who had no expertise in mistletoe. But the one-time gig turned into an obsession. “When they suggested that I don’t need to do it anymore, I was like no, no, no,” says Esque. “This is the most fun I get to have—talking to people about mistletoe and learning about mistletoe.”

There is a lot to love about mistletoe, according to Esque, such as its under-appreciated sweet fragrance and the fact that it flourishes during February in the desert, when little else is blooming.

In the United States, there are two native species, dwarf mistletoe and American mistletoe (of Christmas-kiss fame). Worldwide, over 1,300 varieties grow. There are mistletoes in hues of pinks and yellow and mistletoes that resemble sticks and twigs.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2016/12/23/here_s_the_thing_about_mistletoe_it_s_a_parasite.html