1992 A TEXTBOOK OF THEORETICAL BOTANY 



shrub bearing little cymes of flowers on the margins of the cladodes. The 

 genus Ruscus contains three species of which R. aculeatus (Fig. 1923) 

 (Butcher's Broom) is a shrub found wild in Britain. The flowers, which are 



I 



Fig. 1923. — Ruscus aculeatus. Butcher's h 



Broom. Shoot with cladodes and berries 



usually unisexual, are produced on the surface of the cladode and are 

 followed on the female plant by large red berries. 



Liliaceae 



The members of this family are mostly herbs or rarely soft-wooded shrubs 

 arising from rhizomes, bulbs or corms. They are world-wide in distribu- 

 tion, being found mostly in temperate or subtropical regions. A few are of 

 economic importance, but many are cultivated in gardens on account of 

 their floral beauty. A number are wild in Britain and among these we may 

 mention the following well-known plants: Polygonatiim multifloriim 

 (Solomon's Seal), Convallaria majalis (Lily of the Valley), Asparagus 

 officinalis (Asparagus), Fritillaria meleagris (Snake's Head), Tulipa sylvestris 

 (Wild Tulip), Ornithogahim umbeUatum (Star of Bethlehem), Scilla non- 

 scripta (Bluebell), Muscari racemosum (Grape Hyacinth), Narthecium 

 ossifragum (Bog Asphodel), Colchicum autiimnale (Meadow Saffron). Many 

 species of Liliiim are cultivated and provide some of the finest garden 

 plants. 



The plants are mostly herbaceous perennials with erect or occasionally 

 climbing stems and arising from rhizomes, bulbs or corms. 



The flowers (Fig. 1924) are hermaphrodite, rarely unisexual, actino- 



