About Phoradendron pauciflorum Torr.
Phoradendron pauciflorum Torr. is a flowering plant species in the sandalwood family, commonly called fir mistletoe. It is native to coniferous forests in California, Arizona, and Baja California. This mistletoe is a parasitic plant, and the only known host tree it infects is white fir (Abies concolor). It is a shrub that grows many erect green branches that can reach over half a meter in length. Small, oppositely arranged leaves grow in pairs along its stems, each with a broadly lance-shaped blade up to 2.5 centimeters long. As a hemiparasite, this mistletoe draws water and nutrients from its host tree, but it contains chlorophyll and is able to produce some of its own energy via photosynthesis. The species is dioecious: male and female individuals produce different types of inflorescences. Female flowers develop into yellowish to light pink spherical berries, each approximately 4 millimeters wide.
