470 RUBUS RUSCUS 



to i ins. long. Calyx very downy outside. Fruit described as red and' 

 edible. 



Native of Japan ; introduced about 1888. This Rubus is distinct from all 

 other cultivated species in its large, handsome, deeply lobed leaves, which 

 bear a great resemblance to those of Fatsia japonica, except that they are not 

 so large. It is worth growing for their sake. The flowers, which appear in 

 July, are not freely borne, and I have never seen the fruit. The leaves of 

 the flowering shoots are frequently three-lobed, and it is to them that the 

 specific name refers. 



R. ULMIFOLIUS, Schott. 

 (R. rusticanus, Merrier.} 



A vigorous shrub whose more or less plum-coloured, arching stems are 

 clothed with starry down and armed with long, broad-based prickles ; they 

 root freely at the tips. Leaves composed of three or five leaflets radially 

 arranged, which are slightly downy above but white-felted beneath, rather 

 finely toothed. Flowers bright rosy red, and produced in showy, cylindrical 

 panicles. This well-marked species is of little value as a fruiting bramble, 

 its berries being small and dryish, but from it several ornamental garden 

 varieties have been obtained. It is widely spread over the United Kingdom 

 (except Scotland) and Europe generally. 



Var. BELLIDIFLORUS, Focke (var. flore pleno, Hort ; R. bellidiflorus, Koch}. 

 This is the very handsome, well-known, double-flowered pink bramble, which 

 is so useful in making a gay display in July and August. Each flower pro- 

 duces an extraordinary number of narrow petals. For semi-shady spots in 

 the woodland, this bramble may be strongly recommended as a companion 

 plant to R. thyrsoideus flore pleno, with white, double flowers. 



Var. FOLIIS VARIEGATIS. A handsome variegated form, the main part of 

 the leaf being green, the midrib and veins picked out in bright yellow. This 

 variety needs a more sunny spot than the others. 



Var. INERMIS. A remarkable form absolutely devoid of spines and 

 prickles. It was received at Kew from the firm of Richard Smith & Co., 

 of Worcester, in 1877, but beyond that I know nothing of its history. One 

 may thrust one's hand into the middle of the bush without getting a scratch. 



RUSCUS. LILIACE^E. 



Strictly speaking, the three species of RUSCUS described below 

 should be regarded as shrub-like, rather than as true shrubs, none having 

 really woody stems. They belong to the Asparagus group of the lily 

 family, renewing themselves by stems from the base as asparagus does ; 

 the tender young stems also are eaten in some parts of Europe. They 

 are evergreen, the "leaves" mostly alternate, sometimes in whorls. It 

 has to be observed that the so-called leaves are really modified branches, 

 flattened and resembling leaves, and performing the same functions. 

 They should, properly, be termed cladodes. Flowers with a perianth of 

 six segments, small, inconspicuous, borne in the centre of the cladode; 

 mostly unisexual, with the sexes often on different plants. Hence 

 probably the rarity of the fruits of the two species common in gardens : 

 they are propagated by division, and thus perpetuate the sex only of the 

 original plant obtained. They thrive in almost any soil, and are admirable 



