Mistletoe the host plant. "Viscum album" successfully parasitizes more than 200 tree and shrub species. All mistletoe species are hemiparasites, because they do perform at least a little photosynthesis for at least a short period of their life cycle. However, in some species its contribution is very nearly zero. For example, some species, such as "Viscum minimum", that parasitize succulents, commonly species of Cactaceae or Euphorbiaceae, grow largely within the host plant, with hardly more than the flower and fruit emerging. Once they have germinated and attached to the circulatory system of the host, their photosynthesis reduces so far that it
Common name nomenclature is a global system that attempts to denote particular organisms or taxa uniquely and , on the assumption that such organisms or taxa are well-defined and generally also have well-defined interrelationships; accordingly the ICZN has formal rules for biological nomenclature and convenes periodic international meetings to further that purpose. The form of scientific names for organisms that are called binomial nomenclature is superficially similar to the noun-adjective form of vernacular names or common names which were used by prehistoric cultures. A collective name such as "owl" was made more precise by the addition of an adjective such as "screech".