by c.m. jackson-houlston
Watercolour
h: 36 w: 25 d: 1 (cms).
For many years I had wanted to do a botanical study of mistletoe. Complete plants are hard to come by, as it is a perennial, seasonal, cash crop, but last year I found a fallen branch in the lane leading up to the Nature in Art museum in Gloucester that I could use as the model for the attachment of this hemi-parasite to its host. The leaves along the top of the painting are indicative of some hosts (Malus spp., Crateagus spp., Quercus spp., Salix spp.). Though often associated with Druid rites, mistletoe from oaks is very rare in the UK (only 13 known sites currently). Either the druids nearly exterminated it, or it has always been very rare. Mistletoe is dioecious, but, the ratio of female to male flowers, and, indeed, the structure of the inflorescences, are both very variable. This I discovered while researching for the painting, and it explains why representations of the plant often seem at odds with each other. The seeds are surrounded by an exceptionally viscid jelly which adheres to the bark of potential hosts, before or after passing through a bird. The resulting sprout is an haustorium that penetrates the bark of the tree to establish a link for the parasitic uptake of nutrients, though Mistletoe does also photosynthesise. I have often tried to replicate this in my garden but never succeeded. The price quoted is for the piece in a mount but not framed.
£520 (As exhibited.)
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