''Phoradendron libocedri'' is a species of flowering plant in the sandalwood family known by the common name incense-cedar mistletoe. It is native to western North America from

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, where it grows in forests on its host tree, the California incense-cedar (''Calocedrus decurrens''). This

mistletoe Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant ...

is a shrub producing greenish erect, hanging, or drooping branches from a woody base where it grows attached to the tree,

parasitizing Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...

it for water and nutrients. As a hemiparasite it contains some

chlorophyll Chlorophyll (also chlorophyl) is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words , ("pale green") and , ("leaf"). Chlorophyll allow plants to ...

and can photosynthesize some energy for itself as well. The smooth, noded branches have flattened, scale-like leaves. The plant is

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproducti ...

, with male and female individuals producing different forms of

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...

with knobby flower clusters. Female flowers yield light pink or yellowish spherical

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, rasp ...

each 3 or 4 millimeters wide.

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Phoradendron libocedri''''Phoradendron libocedri'' - Photo gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7187358 libocedri Parasitic plants Flora of California Flora of Baja California Flora of Oregon Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Dioecious plants Flora without expected TNC conservation status