''Ruscus aculeatus'', known as butcher's-broom, is a low

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproducti ...

Eurasian

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from tree ...

, with flat shoots known as

cladode Phylloclades and cladodes are flattened, photosynthetic shoots, which are usually considered to be modified branches. The two terms are used either differently or interchangeably by different authors. '' Phyllocladus'', a genus of conifer, is nam ...

s that give the appearance of stiff, spine-tipped

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

. Small greenish

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

s appear in spring, and are borne singly in the centre of the cladodes. The female flowers are followed by a red

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, rasp ...

, and the seeds are bird-distributed, but the plant also spreads vegetatively by means of rhizomes. It is native to

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...

and some northern parts of Africa. ''Ruscus aculeatus'' occurs in woodlands and hedgerows, where it is tolerant of deep shade, and also on coastal cliffs. Likely due to its attractive winter/spring color, ''Ruscus aculeatus'' has become a fairly common landscape plant. It is also widely planted in gardens, and has spread as a garden escapee in many areas outside its native range. The plant grows well in zones 7 to 9 on the USDA hardiness zone map. The Latin

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bo ...

''aculeatus'' means “prickly”.

History

Etymology

The common name, butcher's broom, hails from one of its original uses. In Europe, ''Ruscus'' species were traditionally harvested for their flat and stiff branches to make small brooms that were used for clearing off and cleaning butchering blocks. Recent research has uncovered that butcher's broom contains some antibacterial compounds. This suggests that in addition to the functional physical properties of ''Ruscus'' species'','' increased effectiveness in cleaning and producing safer products due to unrecognized antibacterial oils may have contributed to its popularity and subsequent nickname.

Traditional medicinal usage

Butcher's broom has been used by a variety of peoples as a treatment for a variety of ailments. A classical remedy from Europe claimed that the rhizomes could be used as a diuretic. In ancient Greece, butcher's broom was used as a laxative or diuretic, and it was also believed to remove kidney stones when added to wine. Butcher's broom was also used to reduce swelling and to speed the recovery of fractures.

Description

Grows to length of 80 cm with stiff branches bearing cladodes (stems modified to look like leaves) and true leaves less than 5 mm. Flowers grow from axils of leaves on adaxial side of cladodes. The 6 tepals are pale green and the ovary and stamens violet. Fruit about 1 cm red, thick and rigid. Flowers in the axil of bracts cladodes up to 4 cm. Clapham,A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg, E.F. 1968. ''Excursion Flora of the British Isles.'' Cambridge University Press

Distribution

In Great Britain it has been recorded from southern England to north Wales. In north-eastern Ireland it is extremely rare growing wild but has been recorded in Counties Down and Antrim.

Phytochemicals

The major phytochemicals in butcher's broom are steroidal saponins. Saponins occur naturally in plants as glycosides and have foam forming properties. The specific saponins found in butcher's broom are ruscogenins, ruscogenen and neoruscogenin, named for the genus ''Ruscus''. Ruscogenins function as anti-inflammatory agents and are also believed to cause constriction in veins. Currently the mode of action of ruscogenins is not well understood, but one proposed mechanism suggests that ruscogenins suppresses leukocyte migration through both protein and mRNA regulation. Neoruscogenin has been identified as a potent and high-affinity agonist of the nuclear receptor RORα (NR1F1). Newer research has also uncovered that there are polyphenols present in butcher's broom which may also be physiologically active, possibly as an antioxidant. As of yet there is not enough evidence to make a conclusion, but since they have now been synthesized in labs further research should be in progress.

Cultivars

The dwarf cultivar ‘John Redmond’, growing to tall by broad, has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

’s

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. Other cultivars include 'Christmas Berry'.

References

External links

* botanical.com
A Modern Herbal, Broom, Butcher's
* nutrasanus.com

{{Taxonbar, from=Q161425 aculeatus Flora of Europe Flora of Asia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Dioecious plants