What is "ruscus aculeatus"

Butcher's broom \Butch"er's broom`\ (Bot.) A genus of plants ( Ruscus); esp. Ruscus aculeatus, which has large red berries and leaflike branches. See Cladophyll.

Broom \Broom\ (br[=oo]m), n. [OE. brom, brome, AS. br[=o]m; akin to LG. bram, D. brem, OHG. br[=a]mo broom, thorn?bush, G. brombeere blackberry. Cf. Bramble, n.]

1. (Bot.) A plant having twigs suitable for making brooms to sweep with when bound together; esp., the Cytisus scoparius of Western Europe, which is a low shrub with long, straight, green, angular branches, minute leaves, and large yellow flowers.

   No gypsy cowered o'er fires of furze and broom.
   --Wordsworth.

2. An implement for sweeping floors, etc., commonly made of the panicles or tops of broom corn, bound together or attached to a long wooden handle; -- so called because originally made of the twigs of the broom.

   Butcher's broom, a plant ( Ruscus aculeatus) of the Smilax family, used by butchers for brooms to sweep their blocks; -- called also knee holly. See Cladophyll.

   Dyer's broom, a species of mignonette ( Reseda luteola), used for dyeing yellow; dyer's weed; dyer's rocket.

   Spanish broom. See under Spanish.

Ruscus aculeatus, known as butcher's-broom, is a low evergreen Eurasian shrub, with flat shoots known as cladodes that give the appearance of stiff, spine-tipped leaves. Small greenish flowers appear in spring, and are borne singly in the centre of the cladodes. The female flowers are followed by a red berry, and the seeds are bird-distributed, but the plant also spreads vegetatively by means of rhizomes. Ruscus aculeatus occurs in woodlands and hedgerows, where it is tolerant of deep shade, and also on coastal cliffs. It is also widely planted in gardens, and has spread as a garden escapee in many areas outside its native range.