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Desert Mistletoe
Phoradendron californicum
  
About Desert Mistletoe (Phoradendron californicum) 0 Nurseries Carry This Plant Phoradendron californicum, the desert mistletoe or mesquite mistletoe, is a hemiparasitic plant native to southern California, Nevada, Arizona, Sonora, Sinaloa and Baja California. It can be found in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts at elevations of up to 1400 m (4600 feet). The mistletoe is a leafless plant that attaches to host plants, often leguminous woody desert trees such as Cercidium and Prosopis. Desert mistletoe takes water and minerals from its host plants but it does its own photosynthesis, making it a hemiparasite.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub

Wildlife Supported
 


 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 confirmed , 3 likely * ) SHOW ALL
*
Tacoma feriella Image
Tacoma feriellaTacoma feriella
*
Sicya morsicaria Image
Sicya morsicariaSicya morsicaria
*
Sicya pergilvaria Image
Sicya pergilvariaSicya pergilvaria

Landscaping Information
Natural Setting
Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 2.5" - 53.7", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 2.58", Coldest Month: 37.5" - 63.3", Hottest Month: 62.5" - 89.5", Humidity: 2.46" - 47.01", Elevation: -204" - 6283"

Alternative Names
Common Names: California Mesquite Mistletoe


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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