Coastal dwarf mistletoe Coastal dwarf mistletoe

Arceuthobium littorum Hawksworth, Wiens & Nickrent, Novon 2: 206. 1992

Plants usually forming witches' brooms. Stems olive green, or brown, 8–12(–20) cm; third internode 10–15(–20) × 2–3.5(–5) mm, dominant shoot 2–5 mm diam. at base. Staminate flowers 3 mm diam.; petals 4. Fruits 4–5 × 3 mm.

Flowering Aug–Sep; fruiting Sep–Oct. Closed-cone pine forests; 0–300 m; Calif.

Meiosis occurs in July, with fruits maturing 14 months after pollination.

Subspecies littorum parasitizes Pinus muricata and P. radiata, and occasionally P. contorta in Alameda, Mendocino, and Monterey counties. It has the largest shoots among the 13 subspecies of A. campylopdum.