The mistletoe of Christmas tradition grows in Europe and Asia, and a dwarf mistletoe, one of the world's smallest vascular plants, can be found in some conifers of Western North America. In Tennessee, only one mistletoe species is common, Phoradendron leucarpum. Mistletoe is a thief. To understand why, look at the life of American mistletoe. The roots of the mistletoe never reach the ground.
Roots enter the host tree, robbing it of necessary water and minerals.
This bell-shaped structure grows into the host tree and combines with the living tree. Mistletoe survives by starving the host tree, sometimes to death. In addition to a host tree, mistletoe needs a way to pollinate its flowers and a way to spread its seeds to the branches of trees. While insects pollinate mistletoe, spreading of the seeds is a most interesting process. In Europe, the mistle thrush bird carries the very sticky one-seeded fruits to other host trees.