A nature charity is warning Mistletoe could disappear from the Nottinghamshire countryside.
The plant has declined by 60 per cent across the UK since the 1950s and conservationists including Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust say it could vanish in 20 years.
But the charity believes there are more apple orchard trees growing in the county, which is where Mistletoe could still be thriving.
“In Nottinghamshire Mistletoe is quite rare
Professor Charles Watkins, of the University of Nottingham, said: “In Nottinghamshire Mistletoe is quite rare. It’s not rare across the whole country, it grows off apple orchards and in Herefordshire and Worcestershire it is really quite common.
“The decline in Mistletoe is probably because of the decline of orchards, in the past there would be more orchards around houses with many apple trees.
“There has been an increase of apple trees in the past few years but these are younger trees which are not as good for Mistletoe.”
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has noticed the plants thriving in areas such as Newark, Southwell and St Ann’s because of the community orchards based there.
The trust now wants people to send in pictures of any Mistletoe they see in the county so they can locate and track it while planning how to encourage its growth.
