Many women, at some point, have met the unfailingly optimistic man who, year after year, brandishes mistletoe above his head, and demands a Christmas kiss. Elsewhere, cuttings of the plant are an integral part of yuletide decorations. But what of mistletoe as a wild, living thing? To see a flourishing patch hanging in riotous wreaths around the boughs of an old tree is one of nature's winter gifts
![Mistletoe in the wild used to be a plant of mystery as well as love](https://cdn-ak-scissors.b.st-hatena.com/image/square/35444539a88817f453d888eb54b7e4b027614fd0/height=288;version=1;width=512/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fmultimedia%2Farchive%2F01545%2Fp_christmas-mistle_1545394c.jpg)