Plants are rarely thought of as parasites, but the majority of mistletoes have a very bad habit - they steal water and nutrients from other plants, while using their own green leaves to make food. This large family of mistletoes has over a thousand species, but does not include the traditional Christmas mistletoes of Europe and North America. Australia's mistletoe bird virtually lives on mistletoe berries, passing the seed rapidly through its system and helping these parasites to spread.

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