Jimmy Albano, age 7, of Gary, Ind., for his question:

 

WHERE DOES MISTLETOE GROW?

The Christmas mistletoe grows in leafy bunches on the branches of certain trees. It is classed as a parasite because its sucker like roots take nourishment from the tree on which it perches. The mistletoe's favorite host is an apple tree  and we find it wherever apples grow. It also grows very well on oak trees and sycamore, on hawthorn, lime and poplar. Sometimes it settles for a life of ease on a fir or a locust tree:

Its thick, yellow green leaves grow in pairs and stay green through the winter. In spring, the mistletoe bears tiny yellow blossoms that turn to waxy white berries in the fall. People may be poisoned from the berries, but certain birds thrive on them. In fact, these birds often fly to other trees to wipe their beaks. And the seeds take root in the bark  starting new tufts of mistletoe.