Facts about mistletoe
Mistletoes are semi-parasitic plants with green leaves or stems that photosynthesise but rely on a host tree or shrub for water and nutrients. Auckland has five of the nine mistletoes native to New Zealand. These include a beech mistletoe, a dwarf mistletoe and two green mistletoes. Two other beech and dwarf mistletoes grow elsewhere in New Zealand and one mistletoe is thought to be extinct.
White mistletoe (Tupeia antarctica) berries
Green mistletoes uncommon
The two specis of green mistletoe, Ileostylus micranthus and Tupeia antarctica, occur throughout New Zealand but are less common in Auckland than elsewhere. This mistletoe prefers areas with lots of light such as regenerating shrubland, forest edges and roadsides. In Auckland Tupeia was once known at several locations but is now restricted to one island in the Mokohinau group in the outer Hauraki Gulf. Its host tree there is maire (Nestegis apetala).
Ileostylus is know to grow in seven locations on the mainland and on Great Barrier Island. Totara and kanuka are the preferred hosts in this region although it is also found on other native and exotic host trees. Ileostylus populations are scattered and tend to have only a small number of plants in each. Some grow on the roadside and are are particularly vulnerable.
Beech mistletoe hanging on
Beech or red mistletoes are found throughout New Zealand. They are known for their masses of red or yellow-orange flowers in summer. Auckland's beech mistletoe Peraxilla tetrapetala is found only on Little Barrier Island where it grows not on beech but on tawheowheo (Quintinia serrata). It has not been seen in the Waitakere or Huna ranges for decades.
Dwarf mistletoe survives in Auckland's inner city
The dwarf mistletoe Korthalsella salicornioides is found on Little and Great Barrier islands and in six mainland sites. It grows on kanuka and manuka. This mistletoe is also at home in an inner city park where the manuka border of the grassy reserve provides great habitat for this light loving mistletoe.
One mistletoe gone for good?
Trilepidea adamsii used to be found from Waikato to Northland and in the Auckland Region on Great Barrier Island, Waiheke Island and in the Hunua Ranges. No-one has seen it since the 1940s in Auckland and the last known plant anywhere was seen in 1954.
back to top