What is the moodjar of Australia?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
December 20, 2001
Suggested Reading: Click here.
The moodjar (Nuytsia floribunda (Labill.) R. Brown) of Western Australia is a hemiparasite, a mistletoe. Unlike other mistletoes in its family, the Loranthaceae, the moodjar does not grow upon the above-ground portions of host plants. Nor does it remain shrubby. It is the largest of the mistletoes, growing to 10 meters (30 feet).
The moodjar starts life as a nut-like seed. After germination, it can survive for six to nine months before it must find a host. The roots of the moodjar do not have root hairs which are essential for the uptake of water and minerals. When its roots encounter the roots of another plant, the moodjar forms a collar-like haustorium (a structure which taps into the vascular tissues of another plant) around the host's root.
In the Annals of Botany (2000), Calladine and Pate report a hardened "prong formed within the haustorium acts as a sickle-like cutting device which transversely severs the host root and then becomes lodged...directly opposite to where it originated." It is felt that once the prong is formed hydrostatic pressure in the haustorium drives the prong rapidly through the host's root. It is said the moodjar can parasitize roots as much as 50 meters (150 feet) away.
The moodjar blooms from November through January during the Australian summer. It is a monoecious tree, bearing flowers in threes along its inflorescences. The center flower is female, the lateral flowers are male.
The bright yellow flowers were said to serve as a calendar for the native people of Australia. When the moodjar came into bloom, it was time to move back to the coastal areas from the interior. Now, this Western Australia mistletoe lets everyone know its time for Christmas.
Australian Plants Online has posted a photograph taken by Owen Roberts of the West Australian Christmas Tree. To view this gorgeous mistletoe, click on the link:
http://farrer.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/APOL16/dec9914g.html
Suggested Reading:
What medicinal plant became a holiday tradition? Herbal Folklore - December 17, 2001
Is mistletoe just a poison or a medicine? Plants that Changed History - December 18, 2001
How did holly become a Christmas tradition? Herbal Folklore - December 23, 2002
Where do the little people live? Herbal Folklore - October 28, 2002
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