Because it's roots are growing inside the branch of the host plant, sucking life and nutrients from the host and weakening that area and the host in general and making it’s branches more prone to breaking off. Also makes the host more susceptible to other pests and diseases entering around that area.But on the upside its fruit provides food for many of our native birds who eat them and then deposit the seed mixed in their dung on the branches of other trees to germinate there in cracks in the barks.
Despite the fact of the problems they cause, they are just as much a part of the natural environment as any other plant species, even though they are a parasitic plant that requires other plants to produce their food for them.
Now if this were an animal parasite how do you think we would react about it sucking the life out of the host it was attached to?
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4 comments:
One of the few problems we have with mesquite trees growing in the desert is mistletoe infestation. It eventually kills the trees, especially in times of extreme drought. Landscape mesquites are usually not as likely to get mistletoe.
Aiyana
Yes we have the same problems with many of our eucslypt's here
I suppose, at one time, leeches were seen to be beneficial as blood-letting devices. Nowadays there aren't any animal parasites that have any good uses ... most of them are considered horrendous, like tapeworms. Yikes, that is not a thought I want to have before sleep!
I learned something about mistletoe here! Thank you to you and Aiyana!
Mistletoe is not a true parasite, since it contains chlorophyle and transform sun into energy. Up here in northern europe it doesn't kill any tree to my knowledge. But I can imagine it causing problems for the host in times of extreme drought.
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