Mini Mistletoe

In its native habitat Viscum minimum uses two species of succulents, Euphorbia polygona and Euphorbia horrida, as host plants. However, given the opportunity, the plant uses a range of succulents, including cacti, as hosts. A mature Viscum minimum consists mostly of haustoria within the host plant, with small stems of less than one millimeter in length each with a single whorl of 2-3 scale-like leaves. A single flower, and later a red round fruit with a diameter of 8-9 millimeters, emerges from these stems. The leaves and stems are capable of photosynthesis, making the plant technically a hemiparasite. The Viscum minimum mitochondrial genome has been sequenced, showing an unusual loss of genes or their functions.