Scarlet mistletoe (Peraxilla colensoi)

Scarlet mistletoe, a reference photo — Photo: Ewen Cameron · CC BY 4.0 (licence)

Peraxilla colensoi, also known as pirita or pirinoa (Te Reo Māori) and scarlet mistletoe (English), is a shrubby mistletoe endemic to New Zealand that is parasitic primarily on tawai/silver beech (Nothofagus menziesii). When flowering, P. colensoi is called korukoru by in Te Reo Māori. It was described by Joseph Dalton Hooker in 1844 as Loranthus colensoi.

From Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Is it poisonous?

We have no record of Scarlet mistletoe being toxic, poisonous or venomous. That is not proof that it is safe. Never eat, touch or handle a wild plant, mushroom or animal on the strength of an identification; ask someone qualified.

Easily confused with

Peraxilla tetrapetala
Benthamina alyxifolia

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Santalales
Family: Loranthaceae
Genus: Peraxilla
Species: Peraxilla colensoi

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