Phoradendron californicum

Phoradendron californicum, the desert mistletoe or mesquite mistletoe, is a hemiparasitic plant native to southern California, Nevada, Arizona, Sonora, Sinaloa and Baja California. It can be found in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts at elevations of up to 1400 m (4600 feet).Hawksworth, F.G., & D. Wiens. 1993. Viscaceae, Mistletoe Family. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science 27:241-245. The mistletoe is a leafless plant that attaches to host plants, often leguminous woody desert trees such as Cercidium and Prosopis.Spurrier, S., Smith, K.G. (2006). Desert mistletoe (Phoradendron californicum) infestation correlates with blue palo verde (Cercidium floridum) mortality during a severe drought in the Mojave Desert. Journal of Arid Environments. 69, 189-197. Desert mistletoe takes water and minerals from its host plants but it does its own photosynthesis, making it a hemiparasite. During the winter it produces inconspicuous, fragrant flowers. Female desert mistletoe plants produce red to clear berries that are eaten by the phainopepla (Phainopepla nitens), a silky flycatcher, which then spreads the seeds. Phainopeplas cannot digest the seed of desert mistletoe, so the birds disperse the seeds when they defecate or wipe their bills.

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