Drooping mistletoe facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Drooping mistletoe
Amyema pendula subsp. pendula on Acacia tree
Scientific classification
Genus:	Amyema
Species:	pendula
Collections data for A. pendula from the Australasian Virtual Herbarium

Flowers of A. pendula subsp. pendula

Amyema pendula, often called drooping mistletoe, is a fascinating plant found in Australia. It's a type of flowering plant that doesn't grow in the ground. Instead, it lives on other plants, like a guest! It attaches itself to trees, especially eucalypt trees and sometimes Acacia trees. This plant is known for its shiny leaves and bright red flowers.

Discovering Drooping Mistletoe

Drooping mistletoe is a unique plant that grows on other plants. It's called an epiphyte because it lives on the surface of another plant. It's also a hemiparasitic plant. This means it gets some of its water and nutrients from the tree it lives on. But it also makes its own food using sunlight, just like most plants.

Where Does Drooping Mistletoe Live?

This special mistletoe is found only in south-eastern Australia. This area includes places like Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia. It's the most common mistletoe you'll see in Victoria. You can often spot it along the coast, especially near the Great Dividing Range.

How to Spot Drooping Mistletoe

Drooping mistletoe has shiny green leaves that hang down. Its flowers are bright red and grow in small groups. Each group usually has three or four flowers together. If you look closely, you'll notice that the individual flowers don't have their own little stalks. This helps tell it apart from a similar plant called Amyema miquelii.

Different Types of Drooping Mistletoe

There are two main kinds, or subspecies, of Amyema pendula:

• A. pendula subsp. pendula: This type has short flower stalks. You'll find it mostly to the east of the Great Dividing Range.
• A. pendula subsp. longifolia: This type has longer flower stalks. It grows more to the west and inland parts of Australia.