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The great mistletoe hunt

10th Dec 2003

Britain's waterways could be the best place to start a little festive flirtation - if you're lucky enough to find mistletoe berries beside the towpath.

The sticky white berries are forever associated with Christmas and "a kiss under the mistletoe", immortalised in countless festive stories and songs. Hidden in the branches of waterside trees and towpath hedges, they are especially common in the Midlands and the West Country - but now, for the first time, a pioneering project is seeking to record their spread across Britain.

Last Valentine's Day, more than 100 mistletoe seedlings were introduced high into the branches of a grove of walnut trees at Enfield Lock on London’s River Lee Navigation. National mistletoe expert and British Waterways ecologist, Jonathan Briggs, is now setting out to to return to the spot to check on their progress.

He explains: "It’s something of a gamble, as we know that many seeds get eaten by birds or die during the summer – only a lucky few make it through to their first winter. But we did plant a large number of berries in the walnut trees around the lock so we are confident of a good result.

"Mistletoe is actually quite rare in London and introducing mistletoe beside the canal at Enfield will not only help the preservation of the species in the capital, but also add an attractive new feature to the trees beside the waterway.”

If the mistletoe has successfully established itself, British Waterways will launch a long-term monitoring scheme for the plants and identify further canalside sites for seeding. If none of the berries has germinated this year, then the scheme will be repeated at Enfield Lock next February and at other trial sites beside waterways.

And you can help. If you spot a sprig of mistletoe while walking the rivers, canals and lakes of Britain, ecologists need to know about your sighting. The information will help to compile a 'mistletoe map' showing the whereabouts of this rare plant.

Jonathan Briggs says: "We hope that people taking a walk beside the waterways this Christmas will keep a look out for this fascinating plant so that we can build up our mistletoe map.

"As well as encouraging London’s mistletoe population, we hope the seeding at Enfield Locks will have ensured the capital's future Christmas kiss quota – but there’s only one way to find out."

If you'd like to join the great mistletoe hunt, Waterscape.com has over 120 walks beside Britain's rivers, lakes and canals - any one of which could harbour hidden colonies of mistletoe. Choose your local walk and get hunting!

Waterside walk directory{tcm:4-277 global_arrow}

Tell us about a mistletoe sighting{tcm:4-277 global_arrow}

Last updated: 22/10/2008