That is actually a bit of an urban legend. It is "poisonous" in the same since poison ivy and poison oak are. You can get a nasty rash with skin exposure. Mistletoe is actually an unusual parasite though. It grows from inside of the tree and bores itself out. It was considered sacred because it didn't grow out of the ground. The parasite is spread by birds that consume the berries and went they...errr crap on the tree it acts like an infectation. I don't know what would happen if you ate a bunch of it though.
Hahaha, yeah I have alot of useless trivia knowledge. I read alot of Celtic history and Nordic mythology when I was younger. I read a bit on mistletoe when I read the story of Baldor in Norwegian mythology. He was a beloved god in their culture that was threatened in omens to soon die. His mother in a panic made every thing on earth refuse to cause him harm. She did however neglect a certain innocent plant known as mistletoe. Perhaps it was bored deep into the tree trunk. Of course, the mischievous god Loki found out and let's just say Baldor wasn't around much longer. I also liked to read alot about urban legends and poisons. Believe me if your planning on killing yourself (not that you or anyone would) deadly nightshade (aka. Belladonna) is the way to go.
Yeah I believe some Europeons actually consumed it as a cure for nerve poisons. Due to limited medical text at the time I'd hate to see it's services called on for necrotic or cell death contact poisons. One interesting difference is like with the two nasty North American spiders Black Widows have a nervous venom that can infect the nervous system and cause numbness and permanant sensory damage and brown recluse spiders have a poison that actually kills the cells around the bite causing the flesh to necrose in a sort of gangrene. Ewww, I know.
Yeah, I know this lady who I affectionately call SpiderLady, she got bit like no crap 10 times. It was really scary to see her brown reculse bites. The worst part is, hubby had a friend in boot camp, he also seemed to attract the little buggers on his thighs, it got pretty bad on him ewwwwww.
I hate spiders, Tommy said he was going to send me a picture of a camel spider to creep me out.
With closer observation I think it is actually a cashew and mixed nut combo. I like peanuts actually, but do I want to sift through misc. nuts to acquire these little treasures? I'd say the likely answer is no. I like my peanuts in the "buttered" form (thank you George Washington Carver.) I have a peanut butter problem and despite rehab and the 19 step program I keep a can of the stuff on hand when things get me down.
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Mistletoe can actually be used in treatments for nervous disorders like epilepsy and such. Although I imagine it tastes pretty bitter.
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I hate spiders, Tommy said he was going to send me a picture of a camel spider to creep me out.
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