Host specificity and experimental assessment of the early establishment of the mistletoe Phoradendron crassifolium (Pohl ex DC.) Eichler (Santalaceae) in a fragment of Atlantic Forest in southeast Brazil

Mistletoe establishment relies heavily on a seed reaching a proper host plant. Small frugivorous birds usually disperse large numbers of mistletoe seeds. However, in the field, mistletoes are absent from some potential available hosts. We investigated whether the mistletoe Phoradendron crassifolium has some preferences for specific host trees in a fragment of Atlantic Forest in southeast Brazil. We surveyed 397 tree individuals of 50 species within 25 families. Seven of those species (14%) bore P. crassifolium infections. Although prevalence at the individual level was low (11.6%), there were ...