Western Producer reporter Karen Briere travelled to Ukraine and reports on Canada’s role in development programs.
SUMY, Ukraine – Kissing someone under the mistletoe is easy to do in Ukraine.
The berry-producing plant is a common sight in the long rows of trees that border roads and fields in that country.
In Soviet times, as locals usually refer to the years Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union and working under the collective farming system, the parasitic plant was carefully watched and controlled.
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Now it is largely left unmanaged and is spreading. If left unchecked, thousands of trees will die.
Yuri Petetsky, an avid horticulturalist who often drives Canadian visitors around his country, said residents are well aware of what will happen.
“Nobody cares,” he said, although he quickly cut off the limb of his apple tree when he discovered a small plant growing in his backyard.
Mistletoe uses the host tree to obtain water and nutrients and over time will reduce the tree’s growth. Heavy infestation will eventually kill the tree.
There are many species of mistletoe, and it appears differently in different places. In Saskatchewan, for example, dwarf mistletoe is a problem in coniferous trees.
In Ukraine, European mistletoe has attached itself to deciduous trees such as silver birch.
Petetsky said birds are the main method of spread. The mistletoe berry is full of seeds in a sticky glue-like liquid. When a bird squeezes a berry in its bill, the seeds come out and attach themselves to their future hosts. As well, birds eat the seeds and excrete them in their droppings.
While the parasite is a problem for trees, some humans, particularly Europeans, consider it a medicinal treatment for circulatory and respiratory diseases.
It is also used in Europe as a treatment for cancer but has not been approved for use in North America.
The North American varieties of mistletoe are usually poisonous.
