Mistletoe ( Viscum album ) is a green shrub, which can measure up to one meter, semi-parasitic on trunks and branches of trees, mainly oaks, holm oaks and poplars. Its fruit is a translucent whitish berry when ripening in autumn, with a sticky juice called "league" . When the birds eat the fruit, they try to get rid of its unique sticky seed by rubbing the beak on the branches of the trees, where it is deposited and ready to start germination.
Mistletoe was a sacred plant for the Celtic Druids, who officiated at ceremonies under the oaks with this plant. There are also traditions that associate mistletoe with fertility, love, and good luck . And to this day the tradition of kissing while passing under a mistletoe branch has arrived.
