Ruscus hypophyllum L.

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Ruscus hypophyllum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/ruscus/ruscus-hypophyllum/). Accessed 2024-03-28.

Genus

Synonyms

  • R. trifoliatus Mill.

Glossary

globose
globularSpherical or globe-shaped.
lanceolate
Lance-shaped; broadest in middle tapering to point.
linear
Strap-shaped.
ovate
Egg-shaped; broadest towards the stem.

References

There are no active references in this article.

Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Ruscus hypophyllum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/ruscus/ruscus-hypophyllum/). Accessed 2024-03-28.

A shrub with erect unbranched stems up to 2 ft high (at least in the wild). Cladodes oval to ovate, 2 to 312 in. long, 12 to 2 in. wide, shortly stalked, abruptly pointed, dark green. Flowers produced on the upper or lower surface of the cladode, each on a slender stalk about 14 in. long; bracts leafy or papery, much smaller than in R. hypoglossum, about 14 in. long, linear or lanceolate, with up to three, rarely four, veins. Berries globose, red, 12 in. wide.

Native mainly of N. Africa as far east as Tunisia, but extending to the northern littoral of the Mediterranean; in cultivation 1768, perhaps earlier. It has a general resemblance to R. hypoglossum, but is readily distinguished by the shorter and broader cladodes and the tiny bracts. It is too tender to have much value in gardens near London.

The ruscus figured in Botanical Magazine, t. 2049 (1819) as R. hypophyllum is a distinct species, confined to Madeira, recently described by Dr P. F. Yeo under the name R. streptophyllus (op. cit., pp. 250, 260).