Mistletoe, Viscum album, though well known, is one of our least understood native plants. This article is an introductory account of its distribution and biology, highlighting some of its many peculiarities and the shortcomings in our current understanding. It is also a provisional report on the Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI) and Plantlife Mistletoe Survey Project, currently entering its second and final winter season. Mistletoe is a species with a lot more interest than just Christmas kisses, and I hope that readers will go out and take a closer look at it this winter (and perhaps next summer searching for Mistletoe bugs!).