1100 



ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM. 



2060. R. aculeatus. 



acute at both ends, branches loose. B. flexuosus Alill. No. 6., Pro- 

 fessor Martyn thinks, is probably this variety. 



The stems do not flower till the second year ; after which they die down to 

 the ground, like those of the raspberry, and some species of jSrailax and Aspa- 

 ragus. The leaves are a continuation of the branches ; equally firm and 

 equally durable, as they never drop off, but die along with the branch, or 

 frond. The roots are thick, fleshy, white, branching at the crown, and after- 

 wards twining about each other, and putting out frequent 

 fibres, like those of the asparagus ; oblique, and striking 

 deep into the ground. The female flowers are succeeded 

 by bright red berries, which are almost as large as wild 

 cherries, and of a sweetish taste ; having two large 

 orange-coloured seeds in each, gibbous on one side, flat 

 on the other, and extremely hard. The green shoots 

 are cut, bound in bundles, and sold to the butchers for 

 sweeping their blocks ; whence the popular English 

 name of butcher's broom. It is also used, in London, 

 by the manufacturers of cigars, &c., for sprinkling the 

 saline hquor over the tobacco leaves. The tender young 

 shoots, in spring, are sometimes gathered and eaten by 

 the poor, both in England and France, like those of 

 asparagus. Planted under trees or shrubs, the i?uscus 

 aculeatus will spread into large clumps, especially in loamy 

 soil ; and, as it retains its leaves all the winter, it has a good effect as a low 

 undergrowth, more especially as it will live in situations so shady as to be 

 unfit for almost any other plant. 



jt 2. R. hypophy'llum L. The under-leaf Ruscus, or broad-leaved 



Butcher's Broom. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 1474. ; Ait. Hort., ed. 2., 5. p. 420. 

 Synonymes. It. latifblius, &c., Tourn. Inst. 79. ; iaurns alexandrlna 



Lob. Adv., SfC. .509. ; Fragon sans Foliole, Fr. ; breitblattriger Mau- 



sedorn, Ger. ; Bonifaccia Ital. 

 Engravings. Bot. Mag., 2040. ; and our j?^. 2061. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Flowers produced underneath the 

 leaves. (WlUd.) A low evergreen shrub. Italy 

 and Africa. Height 2 ft. to 3 ft. Introduced in 

 1683. Flowers whitish ; May and June. Berries 

 red, about the size of those of the common juni- 

 per ; ripe in September and October. 



Variety. 



ja R. A. 2 trifoUdtiim. R. trifoliatus JMill. No. 5. 

 Leaves ovate-acimiinate, placed by threes, 

 with flowers on their upper sides. It is a na- 

 tive of Zante, and some other of the Greek 

 islands, where it grows about 2ft. high. 2061. . hypophyuum. 



% 3. R. (h.) i/YPOGLo'ssuM L. The Under-tongue Ruscus, or double- 

 leaved Butcker''s Broom. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 1474. ; Ait. Hort. Kew., 5. p. 421. 

 Synonymes. R. angustifulius, &c. Tourn. Inst. 79.; //ypogl6ssum 



Loh. Adv. 284. ; Uvularia Brunf. 3. 96, 97. ; Fragon a Foliole, Fr. ; 



Zungen Mausedorn, Ger. ; Lingua pagana, Ital. 

 Engravings. Lob. Adv. Ic, 638. ; Barrel. Ic, 250. ; Blackw., t. 128. ; 



and our fig. 2062. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Leaves floriferous underneath, with 

 leaflet. {Willd.) Alow evergreen shrub. Italy, 

 Idria, Hungary ; and Africa, about Algiers. Height 

 8 ft. to 10 ft. Introduced in 1596. Flowers pale 

 yellow ; April and May. Berries red, almost as 

 large as those of /i. aculeatus ; ripening in winter. aoes. . i/ypogidssum. 



