Also, re: mistletoe
Yesterday I learned that not everyone knows mistletoe is a tree parasite. Which is interesting to me as a storyteller. In Norse mythology, the god Baldr is killed with mistletoe (thanks Loki...). His mother, Frigg extracted an oath from everything under the sun to not harm her child. But she skipped mistletoe because she didn't consider it a separate plant.
Taxonomy saves lives, people. :D
@TarkabarkaHolgy I thought it was because mistletoe is soft and bendy, so not a threat, but that makes sense.
Did you know that mistletoe evolved in Australia, and we still have the most species? Also, corvids evolved here, so you're welcome, Norse myths.
Oh, and there's a type of mistletoe that doesn't even have leaves. It grows inside cactus, 100% parasitic, and you only know it's there when a flower pops through the skin like a prettier Alien.
@TarkabarkaHolgy Oh, and also (forgive me, you most likely know this, but I'm feeling depressed and oversharing trivia helps), in Gesta Danorum, Baldr was the bad guy, a horrible warlord immune to normal metal., who made everyone's lives miserable and short. Until Loki told Hotherus about a magic sword ... named Mistletoe.
@si_fuller Okay I did not know that version, I'll have to look it up :D
@TarkabarkaHolgy It's odd. Some of it is history involving the southern Baltic states, but once it runs out of reliable sources (in the 12th century that wouldn't have taken long), it turns to pre-Christan mythology. The Norse gods, the Asir, are reimagined as mortal rulers of Asia, but who nevertheless had all the usual godly powers.