0281 



ALEXANDRIAN LAUREL 



Family: SMILACACEAE [Translator's note: now included in the Liliaceae family] 

 Reproductive system: DlOECY, SYNGENESIOUS. 



The Alexandrian laurel, Ruscus racemosus, LINN., [Translator's note: named 

 Danae racemosa by the German botanist Medicus, 1736-1 808] retains its foliage all 

 winter. It's worthwhile planting it in groves at this season, because it will create a very 

 fine impression with its clusters of handsome red fruit. It grows about three feet tall, but 

 it's liable to grow slowly when it's beneath larger trees. The stems are straight, flexible, 

 and branchy. The leaves are very numerous, alternate, entire, green, shiny, and pointed 

 aslant at their tip. The flowers are hermaphroditic and are clustered at the ends of the 

 branches. Each one is associated with small bracts. The calyx is globular, yellowish in 

 color, and has six sections. The stamens are joined by their broad filaments into a tube 

 and terminate in anthers. They surround the ovary, which is free, rounded, and crowned 

 by a style and a bifid stigma. The fruit is a globular berry with a beautiful red color and 

 with two seeds in each compartment. 



FLOWERS: in June and July. 



RANGE: southern Europe. It has been grown in parterres and in groves in France 

 for many years. 



NOMENCLATURE. German, der traubenartige ruscus, oder alexandrinische 

 lorbeer. Dutch, getroste muisdoorn. English, the alexandrian laurel. Commonly, the 

 large alexandrian laurel. 



USES. It's used to decorate large parterres and groves in winter. Its shiny 

 evergreen leaves and clusters of fruit add variety to landscapes and trees around it. 



