''Viscum combreticola'', the Combretum mistletoe, is a leafless, dioecious

mistletoe Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant. ...

shrub, occurring from southern to tropical Africa, in a broad zone following the

Rift Valleys A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear d ...

. Though it is typically a hemiparasite of '' Combretum'' species, it may also be found on ''

Terminalia Terminalia may refer to: * Terminalia (festival), a Roman festival to the god of boundaries Terminus * ''Terminalia'' (plant), a tree genus * Terminalia (insect anatomy), the terminal region of the abdomen in insects * ''Polyscias terminalia'', a ...

'' (Combretaceae), ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

'', '' Croton'', '' Diplorhynchus'', ''

Dombeya ''Dombeya'' is a flowering plant genus. Traditionally included in the family Sterculiaceae, it is included in the expanded Malvaceae in the APG and most subsequent systematics. These plants are known by a number of vernacular names which sometim ...

'', '' Heteropyxis'', '' Maytenus'', '' Melia'', '' Strychnos'' or '' Vangueria''. The much-branched twigs are flattened, ribbed and divided into clear segments. The brittle olive to olive-green segments exude a watery sap when broken. Their sessile fruit, usually in pairs, grow from the segment joints. They are ellipsoid berries of 6-7 mm in diameter, that are warty when young but smooth and orange when ripe. The species is vegetatively similar to '' V. anceps'' and artificially resembles the Asian species '' V. dichotomum''. Male inflorescences and fruit are required to separate it from '' V. shirense'' and '' V. cylindricum''.

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''Viscum''
diversity in southern Africa, iziko museums {{Taxonbar, from=Q7935896 combreticola Parasitic plants Flora of South Africa Dioecious plants Taxa named by Adolf Engler