Scientific Name: (Viscum album, Loranthaceae Family)
Common Name: Bird Lime, All Heal, Devil’s Fuge, European Mistletoe
Medicinal Part: Young Twigs and Leaves, Berries (external)
Description: This is an evergreen parasite growing on the branches of deciduous trees and pine trees in a ball-like bush. The evergreen leathery leaves are of a yellow-green color. The berries are whitish, somewhat opaque and sticky. Its roots penetrating through the bark into the wood.
Properties and Uses: Mistletoe, an old medicinal plant, is shrouded in mystery. It is revered as a sacred plant that could remove every ill being gathered with great ceremony and cut from a tree with a golden knife. It was considered an excellent and effective remedy for epilepsy. It is also recommended for chronic cramps and hysterical complaints. The leaves and small twigs which are cut for drying are gathered from the beginning of October to the middle of December and then in March and April. In the remaining months, it does not have medicinal value. Plants with the greatest healing power grow on oaks and poplars. In terms of poisonous attributes, the leaves and twigs are not, just the berries (which can be used in lard as an ointment). Mistletoe in tea form works well for the whole glandular system aiding in metabolism and hormonal imbalance; blood staunching remedy; heart and circulatory complaints; uterine and menstrual disorders as well as cancer.
Dose & Preparation: While this herb is credited with beneficial stimulating properties of a high order when properly administered, it might have a contrary effect if improperly used; therefore recommend only 1 teaspoonful to a pint of cold water steeped overnight. The next morning slightly warm the tea and strain. Fresh juice preparation of leaves and twigs has been noted. Fresh berries stirred in cold lard is used for chilblains, frostbite, and other skin disorders.
Sources: The Herbalist, Maria Treben (notes from class)