• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.173-180
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• 2013

Berries of Korean mistletoe (Viscum album var. coloratum [Kom.] Ohwi) contained one seed, which have, in general, one or two embryos but very rarely three embryos. Mucilaginous substances in berries may help them adhere to the branches of host trees. It was observed that seeds need more than one and half years to develop into normal and healthy seedlings from the time of inoculation. Many factors such as adhesion of berry, thickness of host branch, orientation of haustorial root, etc. influenced the successful development of mistletoe plants. Through the application of six-year observation results on the germination of seeds and growth of seedlings, about 80% of germination rate for mistletoe seeds and 61% of survival ratio for germinated seeds, which is more than 23 times higher in natural conditions, were obtained after inoculation of seeds on the one-year-old branches of Malus pumila var. dulcissima and Quercus mongolica trees. The technological aspects of the success can be applied to other host plants and provide a critical clue to an artificial propagation system, for this medicinally valuable genus. This is the first successful report on artificial inoculation and plant development of Korean mistletoe.