MISTLETOE MYSTERY
A friend resident in England recently e-mailed a pic of a watecolour she’d done of the original English mistletoe, Viscum album. It could have been a painting of the South African species, capense. The occurrence of Yellowwood species in South Africa and Australia can be explained by Continental Drift afer the breaking up of the continents. What’s behind the occurrence behind similar species of Viscum in SA and the UK? A tantalising mystery simply inviting creative guesswork. The majority of Viscum species occur in tropical and temperate regions of the world. Of approximately 950 species, 30 occur in Madacascar and 45 in Africa of which 34 occur in southern Africa. Only 1 Viscum species occurs in Great Britain and other parts of Western Europe. 3 or more occur in the Garden Route alone. The stats suggest that the mistletoe originated in Africa from where it spread to other parts of the world? How? Perhaps seeds were windborne and the stronger ones survived, adapted to colder conditions and evolved into a new species. The idea of human involvement is far more interesting. The Viscum has medicinal properties and perhaps it travelled with early migrations from Africa to other parts of the world. Even more tantalising is the idea that it was included in the Queen of Sheba’s shopping list. There is conclusive evidence that her envoys shopped as far down as southern Africa. ……A delicious thought from the Old Curator. Botanists are invited to submit their views.