#1 Mistletoe by Simon Pickles
Meet Simon Pickles, Director of the North and East Yorkshire Ecological Data Centre!
Simon is responsible for the running of the NEYEDC and for developing its longer-term strategy. He works with current and potential partners in developing many of the projects that NEYEDC is involved in, and has a special interest in making new biodiversity surveillance and monitoring technologies available to conservationists and land managers in support of their work. He is also a qualified drone pilot, a member of the executive committee of the National Forum for Biological Recording, and sits on the RAFs Regional Airspace Users Working Group. You can find him on LinkedIn, email him at simon.pickles@neyedc.co.uk, or find out more about NEYEDC on their website.
‘A long time ago, before COVID-19, I was driving back from a meeting in Helmsley listening to Neil McGregor’s ‘History of the World in 100 Objects’ on Radio 4. I remember thinking it would be interesting to try to tell the story of Yorkshire’s natural history in 100 species and wondering what they might be. I quickly realised my own knowledge wasn’t up to the job, but I knew plenty of people who could help. The moment passed and the idea got assigned to the back of my mind.
Recently I was fortunate enough to employ Lucy Baldwin who, amongst other things, has refreshed our communications output. I set her the task of reviving the 100 Species idea, thinking it would help her to become familiar with both the natural history of Yorkshire and many of the key proponents of its conservation. She in turn has got her revenge by asking me to write the opening blog. We intend to publish the story of one species each fortnight.’
To launch the series and in recognition of the season, Simon has selected the enigmatic and highly symbolic Mistletoe Viscum album. This hemi-parasitic evergreen, with its distinctive clump-forming habit, forked branches, pairs of symmetrical leaves and clusters of lustrous pearlescent white berries needs little introduction. Its hosts include the cultivated Apple as well as Hawthorn, Poplar and Lime. At this time of year, the clusters of Mistletoe stand out against the skeletal branches of trees making them easy to spot. Mistletoe usually occurs in the uppermost branches, as it prefers strong sunlight and so tends to be found on conspicuous single or small groups of trees rather than in dense woodland. It is in just such a position that Simon sees it each time he travels to work through the village of Thorpe Audlin in West Yorkshire.
Mistletoe in-situ.
‘To my shame, I don’t think about this curious plant much for most of the year, driving past without giving it a second thought, but at Christmas I tend to notice it. In England the distribution of Mistletoe is usually thought to be concentrated in the South and West Midlands, occurring far less commonly in the East and North. In Yorkshire a quick check of the database reveals that NEYEDC have access to 141 records of Mistletoe across Yorkshire; it being most commonly recorded in Mid-west Yorkshire and least common in South-east Yorkshire. I was, however, surprised to see that we only have access to 5 records made since 2010, with the majority coming from plant atlas campaigns 1970 and 1979.’
Number of mistletoe records by decade, NBN.
So why might Mistletoe qualify as one of the 100 species? Firstly, it is representative of a group of plants with folkloric connections that are widely known even today and had significant symbolic importance vested in them by our ancestors. Each year we decimate the Mistletoe population of northern France in the hope of luring the unsuspecting into a furtive Christmas kiss and most of us are aware that this is a tradition based on beliefs held by our Celtic forebears. How could they have failed to see the metaphor provided by a plant that shows such vitality at the darkest point of the year? In fact, the Mistletoe found along Simon’s commute falls within the boundaries of the ancient independent Celtic Kingdom of Elmet. A study in Nature (2015) showed that the people of this area are, even now, genetically distinct from the rest of Yorkshire, so the Celtic tradition is not only persistent in the oral tradition, but also in the genetic make-up of the people of West Yorkshire. Though we know little with certainty about the beliefs of the Celts, in folk tradition the plant is credited with curing epilepsy, eliminating tumours and guarding against witches’ spells, while a sprig tied to the wrist or waist of a woman who had difficulty conceiving was thought to increase her chances of pregnancy. So strong is the association of Mistletoe with magic and pagan religion that it is banned from most Christian churches, the curious exception being York Minster. During the Christmas Eve carol service, the Dean pulls on a pair of ceremonial gloves and ties a ball of Mistletoe to one of the ridder posts on the high altar of the Minster choir. The ritual dates back to the Middle Ages, when an archbishop used Mistletoe in a sermon to symbolise living in harmony, which seems as relevant now as it was then.
“So strong is the association of Mistletoe with magic and pagan religion that it is banned from most Christian churches, the curious exception being York Minster.”
Perhaps more importantly, what can Mistletoe tell us about the present and the future of natural history in Yorkshire? In the last 10-15 years there have been several reports suggesting that Mistletoe is spreading faster than it used to in Britain. This is particularly noticeable in eastern areas, where Mistletoe populations, whilst often long-established, have previously seemed slow to spread. But what may account for this change? Certainly climate change models would support an eastern extension to current Mistletoe populations. The story, however, is potentially more complicated. The species traditionally associated with the spread of Mistletoe is the Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus), however, Blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla) are known to be much better distributors of Mistletoe seeds. Until recently, Blackcap was thought of as a summer visitor, which migrated to Europe and North Africa in September and so was unlikely to impact on Mistletoe seed dispersal. Since the 1960s though, Blackcaps from Germany have increasingly over-wintered in the UK and some birds have become resident.
Relative abundance of winter Blackcap, BTO.
It is interesting to note that the winter relative abundance of Blackcap is high across the traditional core distribution area of Mistletoe, perhaps suggesting a concurrence of environmental preferences common to both species. It is suggested that the changing migratory pattern may be not only enabled by climate change, but also by the favourable temperatures provided by urban heat islands in our towns and cities and the prevalence of supplementary feeding (which is more common in the UK than in Germany).
The change in Blackcap migration patterns may in turn be having a growing impact on the Mistletoe distribution. As Yorkshire has a relatively high winter relative abundance of Blackcap, is it possible that Mistletoe is expanding here too, and if so, will the spread of Mistletoe be most prominent in urban areas, where Lime trees, Poplars, micro climates and winter bird feeding coincide?
The interplay between Mistletoe, Blackcap and the changing environment is just one of thousands of interesting stories that are playing out now and will determine the future of Yorkshire’s natural history. National surveillance and monitoring is giving us an insight into what may be happening. Questions like those posed above, however, which help us to understand what is happening at a regional or even local level can only be answered through complimentary biodiversity surveillance and monitoring at greater ecological and spatial resolution. This is one of the challenges that is driving Local Environmental Record Centres across the country, not least NEYEDC.
The ‘Natural History of Yorkshire in 100 Species’ series of blogs will explore more of these stories from across our region, led by the naturalists, ecologists, conservationists, and other experts who know them best.
Monitoring
In the spirit of fun, we would like to invite anyone who sees Mistletoe over the festive period to submit a record and photograph (with or without kissing couple) to ‘Mistletoe Hunt’, our own mini festive project to better understand the distribution of this iconic plant. Records can be submitted to us directly at records@neyedc.co.uk, or you can tweet us at @TeamNEYEDC with your pictures and where you found it. Keep in mind you can always submit your botanical records throughout the year to your BSBI VC recorder and/or your local LERC! You can find out more about recording on our website under Naturalists.
Further Information
We invite anyone that would like to contribute a blog to the series to contact Lucy at lucy.baldwin@neyedc.co.uk. Most importantly, we would also like to take the opportunity to wish all our supporters, clients and partners a very happy Christmas and a healthy and successful new year from the NEYEDC team.