Viscum capense

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}

{{Speciesbox

|image = Viscum capense habit IMG 6404C.JPG

|image_caption = Viscum capense showing its tangled habit in a typical host tree

|genus = Viscum

|species = capense

|authority = L.f.

}}

File:Viscum capense Branching mode IMG 6408.JPG. The result is ecologically important because it offers shelter to various organisms. As shown here, the flowers are greenish yellow}}]]

Viscum capense (common name, Cape mistletoe) is a species of Mistletoe that is indigenous to South Africa, especially the area from Cape Town, northwards along the coast up to Namibia, and eastwards as far as the Eastern Cape province.

This parasitic plant has jointed stems, vestigial leaves in the form of small scales around the stem nodes, and tiny yellowish-green flowers that produce translucent pale berries. The fruit is dispersed by birds. The plant is poisonous but is nonetheless used in traditional African medicine, the plant being boiled to make a tea that is used to soothe asthma.{{Cite web|url=http://www.linnean-online.org/12052/|title=Viscum capense|date=24 September 2007}}{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/s0378-8741(98)00054-3|title=Antimicrobial and anticonvulsant activities of Viscum capense|year=1998|last1=Amabeoku|first1=G.J|last2=Leng|first2=M.J|last3=Syce|first3=J.A|journal=Journal of Ethnopharmacology|volume=61|issue=3|pages=237–241|pmid=9705015}} It is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants.{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.041|title=Morphology, geographic distribution, and host preferences are poor predictors of phylogenetic relatedness in the mistletoe genus Viscum L|year=2019|last1=Maul|first1=Karola|last2=Krug|first2=Michael|last3=Nickrent|first3=Daniel L.|last4=Müller|first4=Kai F.|last5=Quandt|first5=Dietmar|last6=Wicke|first6=Susann|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=131|pages=106–115|pmid=30399429|s2cid=53230419 }}