Box Mistletoe – Ltd Ed Fine Art Print by Esther Beaton

Mistletoes are abundant in Australia. All 97 species occur nowhere else in the world. They are mimics – copying the leaves of the host plant that they parasitise and making them difficult to tell apart. The ones that grow on eucalypts have long, drooping leaves, just like eucalypts. The ones growing on she-oaks have needle-like leaves. Those growing on mangroves imitate mangrove leaves, and so on.  

But their flowers don’t. That’s why I went to great effort to climb onto the roof of my car and then onto a stool so I could photograph a clump. I thought it so beautiful as the flowers were ready to burst open. They are full of nectar and along with their juicy berries provide abundant food for all sorts of birds, insects and mammals.  

If you can’t find a bunch to hang in your home at Christmas, then hang this picture instead to provide inspiration for lovers. Or to infuse the viewer with the plant’s magical powers.