| Phoradendron libocedri | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Core eudicots |
| Order: | Santalales |
| Family: | Santalaceae |
| Genus: | Phoradendron |
| Species: | P. libocedri |
| Binomial name | |
| Phoradendron libocedri (Engelm.) Howell |
|
Phoradendron libocedri is a species of flowering plant in the sandalwood family known by the common name incense-cedar mistletoe. It is native to western North America from Oregon to Baja California, where it grows in forests on its host tree, the California incense-cedar (Calocedrus decurrens).
This mistletoe is a shrub producing greenish erect, hanging, or drooping branches from a woody base where it grows attached to the tree, parasitizing it for water and nutrients. As a hemiparasite it contains some chlorophyll and can photosynthesize some energy for itself as well. The smooth, noded branches have flattened, scale-like leaves.
The plant is dioecious, with male and female individuals producing different forms of inflorescence with knobby flower clusters. Female flowers yield light pink or yellowish spherical berries each 3 or 4 millimeters wide.