Mistletoes of the Continental United States and Canada

About this book

Mistletoes of the Continental United States and Canada is a field guide to the identification of the native mistletoes of the continental United States and Canada and including one introduced mistletoe now found in California. It includes information on the biology and ecology of these mistletoes, how mistletoes are identified (their morphology, physiology, and host associations), the geographic distribution of mistletoes, and comments on how to distinguish morphologically similar mistletoes from one another. Although it does not include citations within the text, it does include lists of "selected references" that contain important additional material about mistletoes that readers can use to expand their knowledge of mistletoes. It also includes sections on the relationships of mistletoes with other organisms, such as birds, mammals, insects, and fungi. It includes a set of sidebars highlighting interesting aspects of mistletoe biology, ecology, or their cultural significance. Although the book does not include specific information on the management of mistletoes, there is a section discussing why mistletoes are often managed by human societies.

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Biography

Dr Robert Mathiasen (retired) was a Professor of Forest Health in the School of Forestry at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff. He received his PhD in plant pathology from the University of Arizona in 1977, an MS in botany from Colorado State University in 1974, and a B.A. in Biology from California State University, Stanislaus in 1972. He has studied mistletoes in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America since 1973 and published more than 50 professional scientific and extension papers on dwarf and leafy mistletoes. His research has primarily concentrated on the impact, ecology, and taxonomy of dwarf mistletoes. He retired from Northern Arizona University in 2019 after serving in the School of Forestry for 23 years. Before that, he worked as a forest pathologist for the Idaho Department of Lands in Coeur d'Alene; before that, he was a plant pathologist with the USDA Forest Service, Forest Pest Protection branch in the Intermountain Region. He worked under the direction of Dr Frank G. Hawksworth who was considered the World's leading authority on dwarf mistletoes until his passing in 1993.