Butcher’s Broom or Ruscus aculeatus

Ruscus aculeatus is an evergreen shrub that originates in North Africa. The plant is quite common in the Mediterranean basin but not so very common on Crete. It is also the only Ruscus variety known to grow on the island. The plant flowers from January to April and it bears fruit between August and March so there is an overlap during autumn and early winter, where the plant carries both flowers and fruit.

The plant has tough green erect stems which have no bark, and from those stems lots of small short branches grow which in their turn carry very rigid, modified stems called “calodes”. Anybody who has had up-close and personal contact with the plant will tell you that it can be a pretty painful experience. The calodes are not only rigid, they’re also sharp-edged and painfully pointy!

Ruscus belongs to the hyacinth family although it was moved through different botanical families before arriving in its present home. At some stage it was declared to be part of the lily family.  It subsequently got its very own family, known as the Ruscuceae, while the latest classification puts it in the hyacinth family.

Butcher’s broom is referred to as an “epiphilly” or “vivipary”, two terms describe the main visual characteristics of Ruscus, and other plants displaying similar behaviour. “Epiphilly” literally translates as “in the middle of the leaf”, while “vivipary” is derived from the Latin “vivus” (living) and “pario” (giving birth to). Ruscus aculeatus belongs to the “epiphilly” type of plants, while it’s close cousin Ruscus Hypoglossum, which does not appear on Crete, is a “vivipary”.

In the 14^th century Italian manuscript “Erbario”, the characteristic known as vivipary is referred to as “Bislingua” or “two tongues”. Many mediterranean countries have a similarly  meaning vernacular name for these plants, e.g. bislingua (Spanish, Castillian), bonifacia (Portuguese), brus major (Catalan), brusc major (Catalan), brusco (Spanish, Castillian), dos lenguas (Spanish, Castillian), etc. These names indicate the way in which the plant grows flowers and subsequently fruit, both grow from the middle of a leaf or calode, rather than a separate stem!

In Greek it’s called “Η λαγομηλιά”, which translates into “the hare’s nest”.

A single plant is unisexual which means it will carry either male or female flowers, but never both. It needs at least one other plant of the “opposite sex” in its vicinity to be able to produce fruit. The true leaves of Ruscus are found as a small rosette carrying the flowers under the calode.
The best way to propagate the plant if you need or want to do this, is to split the root system in late autumn, and then plant the separated bit elsewhere. Ruscus is often used as a separator bush, and makes a beautiful low growing addition to the shady parts of your garden.

Butcher’ broom gets its name from the days when the butchers still slaughtered and cut meat themselves, using thick wooden blocks as a work surface. The rigid calodes and sharp points made that these blocks of wood were thoroughly scraped clean when brushed with a bushel of Ruscus stems and calodes.

Despite common knowledge that the plant is largely poisonous, parts of it are in fact edible. The very young shoots which grow up out of the roots are edible and are sometimes used as a substitute for wild asparagus. They taste pungent and rather bitter. In some mountainous areas of the mediterranean basis the roasted fruits are used as a coffee substitute. The process of roasting removes the poisonous components.

None of the following should be put into practice unless you are, or are accompanied by a well-trained, professional herbalist!

Butcher’s broom is little used in modern herbalism but The German Commission E Monographs, a therapeutic guide to herbal medicine, approves Ruscus aculeatus for haemorrhoids (piles) and venous conditions. The root is aperient, deobstruent, depurative, diaphoretic, diuretic and vasoconstrictor.

It has been taken internally in the past in the treatment of jaundice, gout, and kidney and bladder stones, at the present time it is used to treat venous insufficiency and haemorrhoids. It should not be prescribed for patients with hypertension. It is also applied externally in the treatment of haemorrhoids. The root is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use. This remedy should not be given to people with high blood pressure. The plant contains saponin glycosides, including ruscogenin and neoruscogenin. These substances are anti-inflammatory and cause the contraction of blood vessels, especially veins.

The 17^th century English botanist, herbalist, astrologer and physician Nicolas Culpepper mentions in his book “The English Physitian” that butcher’s broom is a plant of Mars. A concoction of the root, and a poultice made of the berries and the leaves are both effectual in knitting and consolidating broken bones or parts out of joint. (Don’t confuse butcher’s broom with comfrey [Symphytum officinale] which is known as “knitbone” for the same reason!)

The ancient Greek herbalist Pedanius Dioscorides, author of “Περὶ ὕλης ἰατρικῆς” (“On Medical Material”) mentions “Ruscus” in Book IV “Roots” of his Materia Medica where he calls the plant “Ippoglosson”. This is the origin of the name of the Ruscus variety known today as Ruscus Hypoglossum, a close relative to the variety growing in Crete. Dioscorides states that the roots and juice are applied with warm compresses. He also writes that the filaments are an effective amulet for headaches …

In his turn, Dioscorides based his description and medicinal use of the plant on the writings of Theophrastus who mentioned the plant in his “Historia Plantarum”, written about it 4 centuries earlier.

References

• ESCOP monographs “Rusci Rhizoma” (2017)
• “Historia Plantarum”, Book 3, Theophrastus,
• “On Medical Material”,  Book 4 “Roots”, Dioscorides
• “The English Physitian” Nicolas Culpepper
• “Flora Cretica” T. Muer, R. Jahn, H. Sauerbier
• “A Modern Herbal” Mrs. M. Grieve