[HN Gopher] A biological super glue from mistletoe berries?
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       A biological super glue from mistletoe berries?
        
       Author : gmays
       Score  : 40 points
       Date   : 2022-06-15 14:50 UTC (8 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.mcgill.ca)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.mcgill.ca)
        
       | mattwest wrote:
       | I skimmed the paper and will read it fully when I get home.
       | 
       | The methods section seems to focus on processing and analysis of
       | glue properties. Is there anything regarding cultivation and
       | harvesting of the berries? I wonder if this could be scaled in a
       | way to compete with existing products.
        
       | doodlebugging wrote:
       | I think mistletoe sets berries in the fall so I will have to wait
       | to try to gather some berries so I can mess with this at home. It
       | sounds interesting.
       | 
       | The interesting part for me will be whether berries can be stored
       | and preserved and for how long and whether that affects the
       | ability to produce this sticky stuff.
       | 
       | I had always heard that mistletoe afflicted trees when the
       | berries were shit out by birds and the berries became lodged in
       | the crooks of the tree limbs above branch collars. It didn't
       | occur to me that they had their own glue but that explains how
       | they can infect even the smallest branches on a tree.
       | 
       | I know that birds definitely spread seeds of other tree species
       | and that jays were a main species enabling the northward spread
       | of forests after the last ice age.
       | 
       | I also fight birdshit elms, hackberries, and bois d'arc along my
       | fencelines and anywhere else a bird stops long enough to shit. I
       | had an old vehicle parked out in the pasture for several years
       | and the blue jays and sparrows used it as a perch, admiring
       | themselves in the mirrors and of course shitting all over it.
       | After a couple years I had trees growing in the outline of this
       | vehicle. I have since moved the vehicle under a shed where it is
       | a less attractive perch and I kept the new grove of trees, all
       | birdshit elms, as a natural feature called the Bronco Grove. They
       | are growing well and have been used by other birds as nesting
       | sites.
       | 
       | I've used other birdshit trees as quick shade sources. Hackberry
       | grows fast and has excellent shade so you can companion plant a
       | hackberry with an slower-growing oak and then remove it when the
       | oak starts to get large enough to make good shade.
       | 
       | I have been in the habit of cutting out any mistletoe afflicted
       | limbs since it will weaken the limb over time but there are
       | always places too high up or too far out for me to reach with the
       | tools on hand.
       | 
       | Thanks for this article.
        
         | deltarholamda wrote:
         | >natural feature called the Bronco Grove
         | 
         | In a thousand years, archaeologists and historians will argue
         | about the origin of this place name, and they will be
         | completely, 100%, hilariously wrong.
        
       | okramcivokram wrote:
       | I remember my neighbor using glue made from mistletoe berries to
       | catch small colorful birds (80s eastern europe). I don't recall
       | the exact process, but I think it involved cooking the berries
       | and thickening of the glue. Then coating some thin branches and
       | placing them near the already captured birds. Other birds would
       | land on the treated branch and remain glued to it until freed.
        
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