Christmas might be over for another year, but the Department of Conservation is about to spend the next month on a major hunt for mistletoe in Rotorua.
Some of Rotorua's lakeside settlements are a stronghold for the threatened green mistletoe and the major survey will be the first since 2001 aimed at finding out how big the mistletoe population is - as well as letting landowners know what a special species they have in their backyard.
Ranger Paul Cashmore said a ranger would be going around homes in the lakes areas looking for the plants and educating landowners.
![What mistletoe looks like.](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/URTN6DDE43AYJQ6FENHG6YC3UM.jpg?auth=f731509ed0b7e5dd757623712b24d5a9fad467767145b60b7c8f75538a9706da&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
Mr Cashmore said the green mistletoe was "pretty much extinct" in parts of New Zealand and the population around Rotorua's lakes was quite important to the survival.