DESCRIPTION: Perennial partial parasite mostly on leguminous trees. Dioecious. Flowers tiny and yellowish-green. Fruit a pinkish-orange berry. Leaves scalelike. Viscaceae (Mistletoe) Family.
NATURAL HISTORY: Desert Mistletoe is capable of photosynthesizing, but roots also invade bark of host plants and they take in water and nutrients from the host plants. Phainopepla birds feed on the berries and disperse the seeds to other hosts.