RUSCUS. Butcher’s broom. Southern Europe. A nearly forgotten genus of the lily family, once rather widely used as small scale ground covers for dry shade. They form small thickets by means of underground rhizomes. Individual stems are usually branched and lined by stiff, pointed cladodes, short modified stems that resemble leaves. Small white blossoms are borne along the midribs of these cladodes, normally with “male” and “female” flowers on different plants. Where plants of both sexes are present, small red berries are produced. These are some of the best ground covers for use under oaks, as little or no summer watering is required once the plants are established. However, they also tolerate normal garden treatment. Most soils. Hardy to 15^oF. or less.

aculeatus ‘Wheeler’s Variety’. This is a more robust plant than the last, with closely branched stems crowded by deep green, glossy cladodes. It is self-fertile and produces an amazing crop of bright red berries, a little less than ½” in diameter.

hypoglossum. This is the species most commonly seen in old homesteads. It grows a little over a foot high, with widely branched stems and dark green, shiny, pointed-oval cladodes. Our current material is “male” and thus produces no berries.