Butcher's-broom - Ruscus aculeatus

• Add to Pick List
• Back to search results

Butcher's-broom - Ruscus aculeatus
© Dr Chris Gibson/English Nature

Butcher's broom is a stiff, evergreen shrub that is both attractive and unusual. It looks a little like a small holly but is actually a member of the lily family. The true leaves are replaced by leaf-like cladodes, that is, green flattened stems which are lance-shaped with a spiny tip. The inconspicuous flowers are small, dull green and found in the centre of the cladodes. Male and female flowers appear on different plants, and if the female flower is fertilised it produces a striking scarlet berry which lasts into the winter. This dwarf shrub can provide good evergreen ground cover. It flowers from January to April and is found in dry woods and scrub, and also on rocky ground near the sea. It is a native but has been widely introduced well beyond its native range.

The red berries are attractive to birds like blackbirds and song thrushes. Invertebrates find the very tough leaves unpalatable. The woody branches of this plant used to be bound into bundles and sold to butchers for cleaning the meat from their chopping blocks.

Animals

Blackbird, Song thrush

Foliage	Green
Flower	Green, January to April
Moisture	(Dry)
Sunlight	(Part-shade)
Origin	Native