Hu Ji Sheng

Viscum coloratum (Hu Ji Sheng, colored mistletoe, Chinese mistletoe) is an evergreen hemiparasitic shrub in the Santalaceae family (formerly Viscaceae), forming yellowish-green to greenish-yellow dichotomously branched tufts 30 to 80 centimeters across on the limbs of various deciduous host trees, including poplar, willow, elm, and maple. The smooth jointed stems are repeatedly forked, with swollen nodes, and bear opposite, leathery, oblong-lanceolate to obovate-oblong leaves 5 to 7 centimeters long with three to five longitudinal veins and entire margins. Small dioecious yellow-green flowers are borne in clusters of three to five at the dichotomous nodes in spring. The fruits are globose berries about 6 to 8 millimeters in diameter ripening from green through yellow to orange-red, containing a single seed embedded in extremely sticky pulp that aids in seed dispersal by birds. Native to China, Japan, Korea, and the Russian Far East. The leafy stems and branches are harvested in winter, cut into segments, and dried.