On a walk through the woods, you might see a strange-looking growth up in the branches of a tree. It’s called a witches' broom — a dense, tangled cluster of twigs and shoots that looks like a broom, hence the common name.

Witches’ broom is found in many kinds of woody trees and shrubs, such as Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine.

In those trees, dwarf mistletoe is the cause. The mistletoe is a true parasite, getting almost all its water and nutrients from the host plant. The presence of mistletoe can then induce the growth of a broom.

For a long time, both mistletoe and the resulting witches’ broom have been viewed as something to eliminate. They can spread from tree to tree, and if a tree is stressed, it may die.

But on the positive side, researchers have found witches’ brooms are a big bo

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