Ruscus aculeatus
{{Short description|Species of shrub}}
{{Redirect|Butcher's Broom|the novel by Neil M. Gunn|Butcher's Broom (novel)}}
{{Speciesbox
|taxon = Ruscus aculeatus
|name = Butcher's-broom
|image = Illustration Ruscus aculeatus0.jpg
|authority = L.
|synonyms =
{{Plainlist | style = margin-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em; |
- Oxymyrsine pungens Bubani
- Ruscus flexuosus Mill.
- Ruscus laxus Sm.
- Ruscus parasiticus Gueldenst.
- Ruscus ponticus Woronow
}}
|synonyms_ref = {{citation
|url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-286704
|title=The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species
|access-date=5 August 2017}}
}}
Ruscus aculeatus, known as butcher's-broom,
{{BSBI 2007 |access-date=2014-10-17}}
is a low evergreen dioecious 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. It is native to Eurasia and some northern parts of Africa.
Ruscus aculeatus occurs in woodlands and hedgerows, where it is tolerant of deep shade, and also on coastal cliffs. Likely due to its attractive winter/spring color, Ruscus aculeatus has become a fairly common landscape plant.
It is also widely planted in gardens, and has spread as a garden escapee in many areas outside its native range. The plant grows well in zones 7 to 9 on the USDA hardiness zone map.
The Latin specific epithet aculeatus means "prickly".{{cite book | last=Harrison |first=Lorraine | title=RHS Latin for Gardeners | year=2012 |publisher=Mitchell Beazley | location=United Kingdom | isbn=978-1845337315 }}
History
= Etymology =
The common name, butcher's broom, hails from one of its original uses. In Europe, Ruscus species were traditionally harvested for their flat and stiff branches to make small brooms that were used for clearing off and cleaning butchering blocks.{{Cite web|url=http://cms.herbalgram.org/herbalgram/issue85/article3499.html?ts=150112720&ts=1543173709&signature=d0e907a0199a4edd706cb4836767031a&ts=1543206100&signature=cefaba645897c922a6aa8db5c03027d5|title=HerbalGram: Butcher's Broom|website=cms.herbalgram.org|access-date=2018-11-28}} Recent research has uncovered that butcher's broom contains some antibacterial compounds. This suggests that in addition to the functional physical properties of Ruscus species, increased effectiveness in cleaning and producing safer products due to unrecognized antibacterial oils may have contributed to its popularity and subsequent nickname.
= Traditional medicinal usage =
Butcher's broom has been used by a variety of peoples as a treatment for a variety of ailments. A classical remedy from Europe claimed that the rhizomes could be used as a diuretic. In ancient Greece, butcher's broom was used as a laxative or diuretic, and it was also believed to remove kidney stones when added to wine.{{Cite journal|last1=Abascal|first1=Kathy|last2=Yarnell|first2=Eric|date=June 2002|title=Butcher's Broom: Herb's Potentials Too-Often Swept Under the Rug|journal=Alternative and Complementary Therapies|volume=8|issue=3|pages=177–185|doi=10.1089/107628002760091038|issn=1076-2809}} Butcher's broom was also used to reduce swelling and to speed the recovery of fractures.{{Cite news|url=https://www.rxlist.com/butchers_broom/supplements.htm|title=Butcher's Broom Effectiveness, Safety, and Drug Interactions on RxList|work=RxList|access-date=2018-11-28|language=en}}
Description
Grows to length of 80 cm with stiff branches bearing cladodes (stems modified to look like leaves) and true leaves less than 5 mm. Flowers grow from axils of leaves on adaxial side of cladodes. The 6 tepals are pale green, and the ovary or stamens are violet (dioecious plant). Fruit about 1 cm red, thick and rigid. Flowers in the axil of bracts cladodes up to 4 cm.Clapham,A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg, E.F. 1968. Excursion Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press {{ISBN|0 521 04656 4}}
Distribution
In Great Britain it has been recorded from southern England to north Wales. In north-eastern Ireland it is extremely rare growing wild but has been recorded in Counties Down and Antrim.Hackney, P. (ed)Stewart & Corry's Flora of the North-east of Ireland. Third Edition The Institute of Irish Studies & Queen's University. Belfast.{{ISBN|0 85389 446 9}}
Phytochemicals
File:Ruscus aculeatus - flowers & fruits 02.JPG
The major phytochemicals in butcher's broom are steroidal saponins.{{Cite journal|last1=Jakobsson|first1=Hugo|last2=Farmaki|first2=Katerina|last3=Sakinis|first3=Augustinas|last4=Ehn|first4=Olof|last5=Johannsson|first5=Gudmundur|last6=Ragnarsson|first6=Oskar|date=2018-05-15|title=Adrenal venous sampling: the learning curve of a single interventionalist with 282 consecutive procedures|journal=Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology|volume=24|issue=2|pages=89–93|doi=10.5152/dir.2018.17397|pmid=29467114|pmc=5873508|issn=1305-3612}} Saponins occur naturally in plants as glycosides and have foam forming properties.{{Citation|last1=Sahu|first1=N. P.|title=Steroidal Saponins|date=2008|work=Fortschritte der Chemie organischer Naturstoffe / Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products|pages=45–141|publisher=Springer Vienna|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-3-211-74019-4_2|isbn=9783211740187|last2=Banerjee|first2=S.|last3=Mondal|first3=N. B.|last4=Mandal|first4=D.|volume=89|pmid=18958994|bibcode=2008fcon.book...45S}} The specific saponins found in butcher's broom are ruscogenins, ruscogenen and neoruscogenin, named for the genus Ruscus. Ruscogenins function as anti-inflammatory agents{{Cite journal|last1=Huang|first1=Ya-Lin|last2=Kou|first2=Jun-Ping|last3=Ma|first3=Li|last4=Song|first4=Jia-Xi|last5=Yu|first5=Bo-Yang|date=October 2008|title=Possible mechanism of the anti-inflammatory activity of ruscogenin: role of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and nuclear factor-kappaB|journal=Journal of Pharmacological Sciences|volume=108|issue=2|pages=198–205|doi=10.1254/jphs.08083fp|issn=1347-8613|pmid=18946195|doi-access=free}} and are also believed to cause constriction in veins.{{Cite journal|last1=Bouskela|first1=Eliete|last2=Cyrino|first2=Fatima Z. G. A.|last3=Marcelon|first3=Gilbert|date=August 1993|title=Effects of Ruscus Extract on the Internal Diameter of Arterioles and Venules of the Hamster Cheek Pouch Microcirculation|journal=Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology|volume=22|issue=2|pages=221–224|doi=10.1097/00005344-199308000-00008|pmid=7692161|s2cid=20763763|issn=0160-2446|doi-access=free}} Currently the mode of action of ruscogenins is not well understood, but one proposed mechanism suggests that ruscogenins suppresses leukocyte migration through both protein and mRNA regulation. Neoruscogenin has been identified as a potent and high-affinity agonist of the nuclear receptor RORα (NR1F1).Helleboid S, Haug C, Lamottke K, et al. The Identification of Naturally Occurring Neoruscogenin as a Bioavailable, Potent, and High-Affinity Agonist of the Nuclear Receptor RORα (NR1F1). Journal of Biomolecular Screening. 2014;19(3):399-406. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087057113497095.
Newer research has also uncovered that there are polyphenols present in butcher's broom which may also be physiologically active, possibly as an antioxidant.{{Cite journal|last1=Herrmann|first1=Josef M.|last2=Untergehrer|first2=Monika|last3=Jürgenliemk|first3=Guido|last4=Heilmann|first4=Jörg|last5=König|first5=Burkhard|date=2014-04-08|title=Synthesis of Phenyl-1-benzoxepinols Isolated from Butcher's Broom and Analogous Benzoxepines|journal=European Journal of Organic Chemistry|language=en|volume=2014|issue=15|pages=3170–3181|doi=10.1002/ejoc.201400004|issn=1434-193X}}{{Cite journal|last1=Barbič|first1=Matej|last2=Schmidt|first2=Thomas J.|last3=Jürgenliemk|first3=Guido|date=June 2012|title=Novel Phenyl-1-benzoxepinols from Butcher's Broom (Rusci rhizoma)|journal=Chemistry & Biodiversity|language=en|volume=9|issue=6|pages=1077–1083|doi=10.1002/cbdv.201100158|pmid=22700226|s2cid=205546309|issn=1612-1872|doi-access=free}} As of yet there is not enough evidence to make a conclusion, but since they have now been synthesized in labs further research should be in progress.
Cultivars
File:Ruscus aculeatus 'John Redmond'. Locatie, Tuinreservaat Jonkervallei 04.jpg
The dwarf cultivar 'John Redmond', growing to {{convert|50 |cm|in|abbr=on}} tall by {{convert|100 |cm|in|abbr=on}} broad, has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/220446/i-Ruscus-aculeatus-i-John-Redmond-sup-(PBR)-sup-(f-m)/Details
| title = RHS Plantfinder - Ruscus aculeatus 'John Redmond' | access-date = 11 October 2018}}{{cite web
| url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants - Ornamental | date = July 2017
| page = 93 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | access-date = 11 October 2018}}
Other cultivars include 'Christmas Berry'.{{citation |url=https://patents.google.com/patent/USPP16680 |title=Ruscus plant named 'Christmas Berry' US PP16680 P2 |author=Gys Petrus de Jong |access-date=20 July 2016}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons|Ruscus aculeatus}}
{{Wikispecies|Ruscus aculeatus}}
- botanical.com: [http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/b/brobut71.html A Modern Herbal, Broom, Butcher's]
- nutrasanus.com: [http://www.nutrasanus.com/butchers-broom.html NutraSanus, Butcher's Broom Benefits and Information]
- {{PFAF|Ruscus aculeatus}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q161425}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Flora of Western Asia
Category:Plants described in 1753