The Impact of Environmental and Host Specificity in Seed Germination and Survival of Korean Mistletoe [Viscum album var. coloratum (Kom.) Ohwi]

Abstract

-Humankind has been searching for medicinal materials from various plant sources in an attempt to treat disease. Mistletoe is one indubitable plant source for these materials due to its effectiveness in treating various diseases, but it has almost disappeared from the mountainous areas of Korea due to excessive harvesting. In this study, in order to select host tree species for Korean mistletoe [Viscum album var. coloratum (Kom.) Ohwi] by seed inoculation and to clarify the effect of host specificity among various tree species were conducted for the purpose of gaining basic information for the artificial cultivation of Korean mistletoe. Almost all the seeds of Korean mistletoe germinated in vitro at the temperature of 15℃. Among host trees used in this study, Prunus mume showed the highest parasitic affinity with inoculated Korean mistletoe, compared with any other host plants. However, treatment of hormones could not increase the low survival rate of Korean mistletoe on the host trees.

Incredible Host Diversity and Regional Potential Distribution of an Oriental Parasitic Plant (Taxillus yadoriki)

“…Most of these species occur as stand-alone trees or exhibit a linear distribution, and in many cases, are vegetated landscapes that play various roles, such as local bird migration corridors, refuges, and sanctuaries. Due to these native distribution characteristics, T. yadoriki has one of the narrowest distribution ranges among mistletoe species in Korea, which contrasts with other mistletoe species that are mainly distributed in natural forests composed of longto old-growth trees [11,[41][42][43].…”

In vitro Anti-Tyrosinase Activity of Viscumneoside III and Homoflavoyadorinin B Isolated from Korean Mistletoe (Viscum album)

“…Mistletoe (Viscum album var. coloratum) is a photosynthetic plant affiliated with the family Viscaceae, and is a hemiparasitic plant that uses the oak tree, nettle tree, chestnut tree, pear tree, elm tree, as well as others as hosts (Kang et al, 2012;Lee et al, 2015). Mistletoe has been widely used as a medicinal plant in Korea, as well as many other countries throughout East Asia and Europe.…”