Mistletoe doesn't grow where I live. I only knew it as something sold in supermarkets at Christmas time. When I first encountered it in the garden of a country pub in England, I was fascinated. Luckily it was at nearly eye level.

Here are some pictures that show why it is sometimes possible to harvest mistletoe without significantly harming the tree:

http://www.wcosf.org/articles/mistletoe.shtml

More pictures:

http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/trees/phle.html

In Arizona, a very dry climate, I encountered a different kind of mistletoe. It was reddish brown in color, and consisted mainly of stems, rather than leaves—at least when I saw it. Maybe it changes with the seasons.

http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/diseases/az1308/