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Butcher's-broom

Ruscus

Also called Butcher's Brooms

Butcher's-broom
Photo: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0

Ruscus is a genus of six evergreen, shrub-like perennials from western and southern Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia, with the common butcher's-broom (R. aculeatus) the species most often grown. Its flat, leaf-like stems (cladodes) make it tough and easy to grow in shade.

Family
Asparagaceae (Asparagus family)
Grows as
Shrub, Perennial
Light
Part shade, Shade
Water
Water moderately in the growing season and let the top of the soil dry out between waterings; avoid waterlogging.
Soil
Well-drained garden soil or loam-based potting mix; tolerates a range of pH.
Temperature
Hardy to about -15 °C; protect young plants from severe frost.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Toxic

About

Ruscus, commonly known as butcher's-broom, is a genus of six species of flowering plants, native to western and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa, and southwestern Asia east to the Caucasus. In the APG III classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Convallarioideae (formerly the family Ruscaceae). Like many lilioid monocots, it was formerly classified in the family Liliaceae.

The species are evergreen shrub-like perennial plants, growing to approximately 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) tall. They have branched stems that bear numerous cladodes (flattened, leaf-like stem tissue, also known as phylloclades) 2 to 18 centimetres (0.79 to 7.09 in) long and 1 to 8 centimetres (0.39 to 3.15 in) broad. The true leaves are minute, scale-like, and non-photosynthetic.

Other Ruscus plants

Butcher's Broom

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ruscus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

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