Researchers from the University of Essex have grown the festive plant in controlled laboratory conditions and are studying its genetic make-up

Servant classes in Victorian Britain are said to have popularised the link with kissing. A man was allowed to kiss any woman who stood under the mistletoe, and if she refused, this would bring her bad luck.

Mistletoe – the plant that encourages kissing at Christmas – is actually a parasite and has an unusual feeding strategy, new research suggests. Like other plants, mistletoe can use sunlight to create its own food, a process called photosynthesis.