''Arceuthobium monticola'' is a species of

dwarf mistletoe The genus ''Arceuthobium'', commonly called dwarf mistletoes, is a genus of 26 species of parasitic plants that parasitize members of Pinaceae and Cupressaceae in North America, Central America, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Of the 42 species that h ...

known as western white pine dwarf mistletoe. It is endemic to the Klamath Mountains of northern California and southern Oregon, where it lives as a parasite on western white pine trees.

Description

This is a brownish to reddish

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

which is visible as a network of scaly stems extending above the bark of its host tree. Most of the mistletoe is located inside the host tree, attached to it via haustoria, which tap the tree for water and nutrients. The leaves of the mistletoe are reduced to scales on its surface.

References

*Hawksworth, F. G., D. Wiens, and D. L. Nickrent. (1992). New Western North American taxa of ''Arceuthobium'' (Viscaceae). ''Novon'' 2:3 204–11.

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment
monticola Flora of California Flora of Oregon Plants described in 1992 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Santalales-stub