Viscum album originally described by Linnaeus. Its species name is the Latin adjective "albus" "white". It and the other members of the genus "Viscum" were originally classified in the mistletoe family Viscaceae, but this family has since been sunk into the larger family Santalaceae. Several subspecies are commonly accepted. They differ in fruit colour, leaf shape and size, and most obviously in the host trees utilised. European mistletoe is potentially fatal, in a concentrated form, and people can become seriously ill from eating the berries. The toxic lectin viscumin has been isolated from "Viscum album". Viscumin is a cytotoxic protein (ribosome inactivating
Plant-for-the-Planet 1 million trees in each of their own countries. Plant-for-the-Planet promotes the view that each tree is a contribution towards environmental and climate protection. It also suggests that each tree planting is an action for social justice. The organisation says that it is most often the developing countries that suffer the most from the effects of climate change, despite the fact that they have most often done the least to cause it. Plant-for-the-Planet says it considers each tree to also be a symbol for climate justice. By the start of 2011, there were children participating in more than 93 countries.