Editing Mistletoe (section)

== Ecological importance ==
Mistletoes are often considered pests that kill trees and devalue natural habitats, but some species have recently been recognized as ecological [[keystone species]], organisms that have a disproportionately pervasive influence over their community.<ref name="Watson-2001">[[David M. Watson]], "Mistletoe-A Keystone Resource in Forests and Woodlands Worldwide" ''Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics'' '''32''' (2001:219–249).</ref> A broad array of animals depend on mistletoe for food, consuming the leaves and young shoots, transferring [[pollen]] between plants and dispersing the sticky seeds. In western North America their juicy berries are eaten and spread by birds (notably the [[phainopepla]]) while in Australia the [[mistletoebird]] behaves similarly. When eaten with the fruit, some seeds pass unharmed through their digestive systems, emerging in extremely sticky droppings which the bird deposits on tree branches, where some may stick long enough to germinate. As the plants mature, they grow into masses of branching stems that suggest the popular name "witches' brooms".{{Cn|date=January 2021}}

The dense evergreen [[witch's broom|witches' brooms]] formed by the [[dwarf mistletoe]]s (''[[Arceuthobium]]'' species) of western North America also make excellent locations for roosting and nesting of the northern [[spotted owl]] and the [[marbled murrelet]]. In Australia the [[diamond firetail]] and [[painted honeyeater]] are recorded as nesting in different mistletoes.

A study of mistletoe in [[juniper]]s concluded that more juniper berries sprout in stands where mistletoe is present, as the mistletoe attracts berry-eating birds who also eat juniper berries.<ref>Susan Milius, "Mistletoe, of All Things, Helps Juniper Trees" ''Science News'' '''161'''.1 (January 2002:6).</ref>