 "Phoradendron" is the largest genus of mistletoe in the Americas, and possibly the largest genus of mistletoes in the world.Traditionally, the genus has been placed in the family Viscaceae, but recent genetic research acknowledged by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group shows this family to be correctly placed within a larger circumscription of the sandalwood family, Santalaceae.They are woody hemi-parasitic shrubs with branches long, which grow on other trees.