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|  » Stats |
Members: 50,187
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| | Welcome to our newest member, Della | |  | 
11-01-2010, 10:15 PM
| | New Member | | Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 1
| | | Unidentified holly?
Hi there
Can anyone help me identify the shrub pictured? I've looked in books and online but no luck. The leaves are 10-15mm in length, 5-8mm wide and have sharp spikes on the end. The berries emanate from flowers in the middle of the leaf and are about 6mm in diameter. The shrub is near where I live in Downton, Wiltshire. Is it a type of holly?
Any thoughts anyone?!   |
11-01-2010, 10:19 PM
| | Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,023
| | | Re: Unidentified holly?
No, it's Butcher's-broom (Ruscus aculeatus) - it is a native plant in woodlands, but more often occurs as a garden escape |
12-01-2010, 04:35 AM
| | Knight Grand Cross of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 13,610
| | | Re: Unidentified holly?
Yep, Butchers Broom- so called because the stems used to be used for clearing the chopping boards of butchers.
A technicality, but what look like leaves are infact cladodes, which are a flattened leaf like shoot!  |
12-01-2010, 03:13 PM
| | Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,252
| | | Re: Unidentified holly?
Quote:
Originally Posted by aeshna5  Yep, Butchers Broom- so called because the stems used to be used for clearing the chopping boards of butchers.
| I wonder if that is really true. Can't imagine that it would have been especially efficient. Is there any documentary evidence of its use in that way? What did butchers use where Butchers Broom didn't grow?
henrya
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12-01-2010, 04:48 PM
| | Knight Grand Cross of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 13,610
| |  Re: Unidentified holly?
Quote:
Originally Posted by thunder I wonder if that is really true. Can't imagine that it would have been especially efficient. Is there any documentary evidence of its use in that way? What did butchers use where Butchers Broom didn't grow?
henrya | I wasn't around at time, but it's certainly mentioned in Flora Britannica for the 17th century. I'm not going to argue with Richard Mabey. I guess it would have been a localised use, depending on the plant's then distribution. | | |
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