A slightly late start to the blog this year – but announcing all the usual stuff; the berries are looking good, whitening up already, mistletoe events are being organised, mistletoe studies are being planned and mistletoe commerce is underway.
In events news there are the usual mistletoe auctions at Tenbury Wells – this year on Tuesday 21st and Tuesday 28th November. Details for buyers and sellers are at https://nickchampion.co.uk/auctions/holly-and-mistletoe/ or, if you just want to watch, just turn up at Burford Garden Centre, WR15 8HQ on the day (auctions take place in the mornings).
And also in Tenbury Wells there is the annual Mistletoe Festival, on Saturday 2nd December. Details at https://www.tenburymistletoe.org/events/mistletoe_festival/2023. Also, on the night before, a Mistletoe Eve event – details at https://www.tenburymistletoe.org/events/mistletoe_eve. Plus, before all that an event next week, on 9th November, at Stoke Bliss Village Hall – details below/right (click to enlarge).
Plus, in big news for this season, there’s a new mistletoe study being organised by Oxford University – more about that in due course.
Not forgetting, for those who want to grow their own, the English Mistletoe Shop is up and running again takin orders for grow-kits for planting on trees next spring. Details at https://englishmistletoeshop.co.uk/ and at https://growmistletoe.co.uk/
And finally, for those who want to read up on what’s going on with mistletoe in Britain and Ireland, here are the links to the two recent overview papers about it:
- Biological Flora of Britain and Ireland No. 303: Viscum album Peter A. Thomas, Monika Dering, Marian J. Giertych, Grzegorz Iszkuło, Dominik Tomaszewski and Jonathan Briggs Journal of Ecology 2023. Pdf downloadable at https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1365-2745.14036
- Mistletoe,Viscum album (Santalaceae), in Britain and Ireland: a discussion and review of current status and trends Jonathan Briggs British & Irish Botany Dec 2021 3(4): 419-454 Pdf downloadable at https://www.britishandirishbotany.org/index.php/bib/article/view/108/139
That’s all for now, more soon.