74. Butchers Broom

I discovered Butchers Broom (Ruscus aculeatus) in Cornwall when I was wandering around the garden looking for berries for the Christmas wreath. It is a dense, very prickly evergreen plant, about knee height and covered in lovely large bright red berries. The bush had self-seeded and established itself just outside the garden gate underneath the hydrangeas and was doing very well indeed.

The name is interesting: mature branches of this shrub used to be bound into bundles and sold to butchers for cleaning their butchers’ blocks. It is also sometimes known as Knee Holly and Wild Myrtle. It is usually found growing wild in woodlands, mainly in the south of the UK and is tolerant of deep shade and windy coastal areas.

The pointed “leaves” of the plant are actually modified stems (called “cladodes”) which end in a single sharp spine. They produce white flowers in the spring with flowers forming in the centre of the leaves (stems). Like many holly and mistletoe species, the male and female flowers form on different plants, and the female plant only produces the gorgeous red berries in September if it is fertilized. The seeds are distributed by birds.

The berries seem to last a long time. They appear on the bush in September and are still going strong in February. I picked some for the Christmas wreath in early December and they are still holding up.

Fortunately the plant can also spread vegetatively by rhizomes. I lifted a lot of young plants from around the base of the main bush and have planted them up in separate pots. They will make a welcome addition to my collection of garden cat deterrents when they establish themselves.