be prepared to pay KISSES are going to be scarce this Christmas because the cost of mistletoe has gone through the roof!

The custom of kissing under a sprig of the green plant has long been part a festive tradition but this year revellers could find anything from a peck on the cheek to a passionate clinch is in short supply.

The price rise has been blamed on people turning their backs on the custom, coupled with a ban on the plant being imported from France to bolster supplies.

Prices for a bunch of mistletoe this year range from £1 to £2, depending on where it is purchased but people are are no longer willing to shell out a couple of quid to continue the nation's once-loved tradition. Most people say they would rather put their money to better use.

Market trader, Howard Smith, 34, runs a flower stall in Blackburn Market and has been buying mistletoe for years. Howard said: "This year there hasn't been as much mistletoe around for us to buy from the suppliers. This is probably because people aren't as interested in the Christmas tradition any more.

"I have kept the same prices this year to encourage people to buy. It is a shame because everybody likes an excuse to be able to have a kiss."

But despite research showing that plant growth is on the up in Britain, a recent supermarket ban on French mistletoe could lead to prices being increased even further.

With less mistletoe available on the market, prices could soar prompting a wave of mistletoe rustling. According to a recent comprehensive study of the plant, the first to be compiled in 30 years, mistletoe is now growing in more areas than ever before.

However, conservationists are concerned that the boycotts of French mistletoe, in retaliation for France's refusal to lift its ban on British beef, could place native stocks in jeopardy.

Tesco has cancelled its £2million order of French mistletoe and other supermarkets have said they may well follow suit.

Jonathan Briggs, a co-ordinator of the mistletoe survey, said: "It would be bad news if imports were banned. We're heavily reliant on these supplies and without them people would try to harvest much more here.

"Mistletoe takes a long time to grow and rustlers could break off whole branches trying to get to it, especially if prices start to soar. In some areas that would set back the plant for years."

There are two types of mistletoe. The one that is commonly used as a Christmas decoration is called Phoradendron flavescens which is native to North America and grows as a parasite on trees from New Jersey to Florida.

The other type of mistletoe, is known as Viscum album, which is of European origin.

The European mistletoe is a green shrub with small, yellow flowers and white sticky berries which are considered poisonous. MISTLETOE FACTS

It grows as a weed on apple trees

The word mistletoe means "dung-on-a-twig" derived from the ancient belief of the Anglo-Saxons that mistletoe was propagated from bird droppings

It is considered a bestower of life and fertility

In the Middle Ages branches of mistletoe were hung from ceilings to ward off evil spirits

The correct etiquette is for a man to pluck a berry when he kisses a woman under the mistletoe, and when the last berry has gone there should be no more kissing