Butcher's Broom

Butcher's Broom (Ruscus), a genus of ever- group of Liliaceæ, remarkable for their reduced leaves, which are mere scales, bearing in their axils flattened leaf-like branches (cladodes) which bear the flowers upon their surface (R. aculeatus) or round their edge (R. androgynus), and are often twisted at the base, so as to reverse their upper and under surfaces. R. aculeatus is the common Butcher's Broom, so called because used by butchers to sweep their blocks. It grows more commonly and luxuriantly in the south of Europe. The fruit is a red one-seeded sweetish berry. It grows well under trees or shrubs, and can often be advantageously introduced for ornamental purposes. The root was formerly used as an aperient and diuretic.