1 J518 ARBOKETUM AND FKUTJCETUM. PART 111. 



OL 1. R. ACULEA X TUS L. The prickly, or common, Butcher's Broom. 



Identification. Lin. Sp. PL, 1474.; Willd. Sp. PL, 4. p. 874.: Fl. Br., p. 1073/; Eng. Bot., t 560.: 

 Hook. Scot., p. 288. ; Woodv. Suppl, t. 237. ; Mill Illust., t. 96. ; Bull. Fr., t. 243. ; Engl. Fl., 

 4. p. 235. ; Hook. Br. FL, p. 431. ; Lindl. Synop., p. 270. ; Mart. Mill., No. 1. ; Ait. Hort. Kew., 

 ed. 2., 5. p. 420. ; Desf. Hist, des Arb., &c., 1. p. 11. ; Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836; Bon Jard., ed. 1837. 



Synonytnes. .Riiscus, No. 1238., Hall. Hist., 2. p. 116., Rait Syn. t 262., Tray. Hint., p. 919., Matlh. 

 falgr.,2. p. 555., Cam. Epit., p. 935., Bauh. Hist., 1. p. 579., Jiauh. Pin., 470.; Myrtacantha 

 Lob. Ic., 637. : R. f. Briiscus Ger. Emac., p. 907. ; R. myrtiftlius aculeatus Tourn. Inst., Shaw 

 Afric, No. 518., Du Ham. Arb., 2. 236. t. 57. ; /fuscus Dod. Pempt., 744. ; Box Holly, Knee Holly, 

 wild Myrtle, prickly Pettigree ; Houx Frelon, petit Houx, Buis piquant, Fragon epineux, Fragon 

 piquant, Fr. ; Stechender Mausedorn, Ger. 



Engravings. Woodv. Suppl., t. 237. ; Mill. Illust, t. 96. : Bull. Tr., t. 243. ; Lob. Ic., 637.; Eng. 

 Bot, t. 560. ; and our fig. 2387. 



S])ec. Char., fyc. Leaves ovate, sharp-pointed, flowering on the upper side, 

 without a leaflet. (Smith.} An evergreen suffrutescent plant, a native of 

 Britain ; flowering in March and April, and ripening its berries in the 

 beginning of winter. 

 Varietiei. 



- R. a. 2 rotundifolius Barrel. Ic., 517., Mart. Mill.; R. vulgaris folio 

 ampliore Dill. Elt/i., 333., 334. t. 251. f. 324. ; has the leaves some- 

 what larger and rounder than those of the species. 



it. R. a. 3 laxus Smith; R. laxus Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836. Mr. Fairbairn, 

 gardener to the Company of Apothecaries at Chelsea, presented to 

 the Linnaean Society, in 1796, a specimen of .fluscus which had 

 been long in cultivation in the garden under his care, but had till 

 then been overlooked. The leaves were elliptic, acute at both ends, 

 and the branches loose. From the last circumstance, Sir James 

 Edward Smith gave it the name of R. laxus. (See Lin. Trans., iii. 

 p. 334. ; and Eng. FL, iv. p. 235.) R. flexuosus Mill. No. 6., Pro- 

 fessor Marty n thinks, is probably this variety. 



Description, Sfc. Suffruticose plants, with tough, stiff', round, green, striated 

 stems, from 1 ft. 6 in. to 3 ft. in height, sending out from the sides many short 

 branches. 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 tfmilax and Asparagus. 

 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 leaves are 

 numerous, and of the same size and shape as those of the 

 myrtle, but very stiff", and ending in short prickly points : 

 they are alternate, about ^in. long, and A in. broad near 

 the base ; ovate, quite entire, and sessile. From the 

 middle of the leaf above, comes out a single flower, on 

 a very short pedicel : it is small and yellowish-green, or 

 purplish. When it first appears, which is about March 

 or April, it is of the size and shape of a small pin's head ; 

 and, when it is fully expanded, which is in May or June, 

 it is composed of three outer sepals, which are widish, and three nar- 

 rower sepals, which are within the others, and are like rays ending in a 

 narrow point : the last three some botanists consider as petals. The roots are 

 thick, fleshy, white, branching at the crown, and afterwards twining about 

 each other, and putting out frequent fibres, like those of the asparagus ; oblique, 

 and striking deep into the ground. The circumstance of the flower being 

 produced on the leaf, without any apparent stalk, is so remarkable, that it 

 has led some botanists to suppose that the leaves are, in fact, only expanded 

 branches, or, rather, footstalks to the flowers. According to Woodward, as 

 quoted by Professor Martyn, " the flower does not properly grow out of the 

 leaf, but on a pedicel springing from the bosom of the leaf, which is immersed 

 beneath the outer coat, whence it may with ease be dissected." 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 



