Herba Visici

Colored Mistletoe Herb

More translations are: mistletoe

Alias north parasitic, mulberry parasitic, willow parasitic, parasitic.

The source is the leafy stems and branches of Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nakal, a mistletoe of the family Taxilliaceae.

The annotation on the dictionary is that an organism that depends on another organism or absorbs nutrients from the living cells and tissues of another organism for a living. Without its host, it will wither to golden yellow.

Plant morphology evergreen semi-parasitic shrub, 30 ~ 60 cm high. Stems and branches are cylindrical, yellow-green or green, with obvious nodes and 2 ~ 3 forked branches on the nodes. The single leaf is opposite, born at the branch end, sessile, nearly fleshy, shiny, elliptic-lanceolate or oblanceolate, entire, and glabrous on both sides. Flowers unisexual, born at the end of branches or bifurcation; Male perianth 4-lobed, stamens 4, filaments absent, anthers multilocular; Female flowers1~ 3 flowers are born on the short peduncle, the perianth is bell-shaped, 4-lobed, and the ovary is inferior. Berries are spherical, translucent, orange-red when ripe, and rich in mucilage. The flowering period is April to May, and the fruiting period is September.

Parasitic on elm, birch, Pterocarya stenoptera, pear, Quercus acutissima and other trees. Location: Northeast China and North China.

It can be harvested all year round, chopped and dried for later use.

Characteristics: The stems and branches are cylindrical, with a diameter of 3 ~ 8 mm, slightly enlarged nodes, as thick as 1.5cm, with purple-black rings; The surface is golden yellow with irregular longitudinal wrinkles. The leaves are thick, golden yellow to yellowish brown, with many transverse wrinkles. The stem is hard in texture, pale yellow in cross section, loose in skin, obvious in cambium ring, white in ray and small in pith.

The stem and leaf of chemical components contain oleanolic acid, β-amyrin, mesoinositol and flavonoids. The leaves also contain mistletoe glycosides A and B and Iupeol.

The taste is flat, sweet and bitter.

The main functions are expelling wind and dampness, nourishing liver and kidney, strengthening bones and muscles, and preventing miscarriage. Used for rheumatism, arthralgia, soreness of waist and knees, and fetal movement.

Moral:

Evergreen mistletoe represents hope and abundance. There is a well-known saying in Britain: there is no happiness without mistletoe.

Mistletoe, as its name implies, is a plant that is parasitic on other plants. It has evergreen seasons, yellow flowers and white or red berries in winter. Drinking its juice can prevent infertility. A long time ago, our ancestors knew how to make bird glue with the mucus of mistletoe fruit, so birds fell into people's hands and became delicious food on the table.

Mistletoe is called "the golden branch of life" in the west, but it has become a symbol of death in Nordic mythology: Bird, the god of peace, the son of Odin and the god of love Friga, was shot dead by the evil god Loki with a dart made of mistletoe. Frija's sad tears dissolved the evil of mistletoe and saved her son. So she promised that whoever stood under the mistletoe would be given a kiss. This myth has evolved into a western Christmas tradition: if a woman occasionally passes by or stands where mistletoe hangs, the man next to her can go up and kiss her. Westerners believe that this is a sign of the combination of the two sexes and many children. This is also consistent with the customs of the ancient Celts. They believe that red mistletoe fruit is a symbol of female vitality; White fruit represents male fertility; They both represent the primitive Mother Earth.

According to tradition, mistletoe, which is regarded as an evil thing, can be used to help pregnancy and lightning protection; Hanging in the room can resist bad luck and witchcraft, and hanging at the door can prevent witches from entering the room. Mistletoe was once regarded as a "panacea", and some tribes in Africa would wear it before the war to avoid injury. The Austrian put mistletoe on the threshold to prevent nightmares. When Christmas comes, English people will hang branches of mistletoe and put it under their pillows to predict their dreams. Swedes use mistletoe branches as a probe to find gold veins. In the border area between Austria and Italy, there has been a saying that mistletoe can make people invisible.

Mistletoe is a lucky plant born on February 24th/KLOC-0. Its evergreen represents perseverance and regeneration ability. Therefore, it is said that those who are blessed by it will have strong willpower and firm goals in life, can resist any temptation and will not give up easily in the face of difficulties; But some people will be complacent, which will be the fuse of failure.