Jewelry that is bad for trees: mistletoe grows more

Mistletoe is popular as a Christmas ornament, and it is also used in medicine.

But in nature it is parasitic and harms the trees.

It is seen more often in Brandenburg.

Eberswalde - A kissing couple under a mistletoe at Christmas time means, according to an old custom, eternal love - but the green-yellow semi-parasite is a nuisance for trees. Because mistletoe weakens many tree species. Usually it mainly sits on poplars and fruit trees. But in Brandenburg it continues to spread. "We have more reports and we are also seeing more mistletoe, both on coniferous and hardwood in the forests," reports forest protection expert Karin Möller from the Landesbetrieb Forst in Eberswalde.

The mistletoe benefits from the fact that the trees in the country are doing worse and worse. A tree must be vital in order to be able to ward off harmful pathogens. The more stressed trees are due to drought, extreme weather conditions, hail or storm, the more vulnerable they are. Defense mechanisms are weakened due to dry periods, more pollutants and infestation by caterpillars, plant wasps and, for three years, also by bark beetles.

According to the Forest Status Report 2020 from the Ministry of the Environment, the Brandenburg Forest is in "constant stress" for the third year in a row, despite a slight recovery. According to the ministry, the highest tree death rate has even been observed since the beginning of the nationwide forest status survey in 1991. "With the lack of water and the increasing number of harmful pathogens due to drought, climate change has arrived in the middle of the Brandenburg Forest," said Environment Minister Axel Vogel (Greens).

Urte Delft, a graduate engineer for landscape use and nature conservation, reports on the spread of the parasite in the Prignitz, especially in the Elbe Valley, but also in the east and south of Brandenburg and north of Potsdam.

Older apple trees in particular are susceptible, and overall care is necessary.

The mistletoe takes the nutrients and grows over the years.

Due to their weight, branches can break off and the fruits become smaller.

The expert knows that if you want healthy fruit trees, you have to cut out the mistletoe.

However, it is likely that the semi-parasites will return because the mistletoe grows deep into the trunk.

“There has to be a healthy balance.” Mistletoes also have their right to exist.

Names like Drudenfuß or witch's broom in old books suggest that mistletoe was an ancient medicinal plant. Today it is considered beneficial for chronic cramps or hysterical complaints. It is also used medically as anti-cancer or preventive.

Mistletoe does photosynthesis itself, i.e. converts carbon dioxide (CO2) into oxygen, among other things, with the help of the sun.

At the same time, however, it is also parasitic and deprives the trees of water and nutrients.

The mistletoe works its way into the tree with its suction roots and removes water and nutrients from it.

Vital trees can repel mistletoe spores with resin and their stem sap, which contains tannic acid.

Forest protection expert Karin Möller calls them "secondary ingredients" which cause needles or leaves, for example, to taste bad.

If the mistletoe hits trees that are already weakened, however, according to the expert, it can become threatening.

The seeds are spread by birds.

They wipe the seeds off the branch or excrete them undigested.

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Delft estimates that in order to make forests more vital, a tree needs more space to grow.

In general, it is about making forests more resistant to pests, even with more tree species.

According to its own statements, the state wants to promote forest conversion towards more mixed forests.

"It is difficult for us to do anything against the weather extremes, we can only see that the trees can deal with it as better as possible," said the expert.

dpa