Botany

Around 1400 plants are subsumed under name of mistletoe in its widest sense. However, anti-cancer drugs derived from mistletoe are exclusively made from the Common Mistletoe (Viscum album).

The Common Mistletoe grows on deciduous as well as on coniferous trees. It is especially common on poplar and apple trees, but is also found on maple, birch, lime, robinia, willow, hawthorn, almond, elm and – more rarely – oak. Its most preferred coniferous hosts are pine and spruce. The Common Mistletoe is native throughout Europe, but also in North Africa, the Near East and Japan. It is rarely found in Northern Europe because it does not tolerate extreme cold below -20 °C. In southern countries its expansion is restricted by excessive sunlight and dryness. The rare oak mistletoe is found above all in France, but it is also cultivated in Switzerland.

In terms of its growth, development and propagation mistletoe has many properties which distinguish it from other plants. In the early 20th century, Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy, recognised these unique characteristics and identified the mistletoe as having potential for the treatment for cancer if adequately prepared and used in the right context.

At a glance

Anti-cancer drugs derived from mistletoe are exclusively made from the Common Mistletoe (Viscum album). It grows on deciduous as well as on coniferous trees. The mistletoe differs from “normal plants” in almost every characteristic.