Butcher's broom - Ruscus aculeatus
- The Foraging Course Company
- 17 hours ago
- 2 min read
Edible with caution plant - novice Season - all year Common names butcher's broom, knee holly, kneeholm, box holly, knee hull, pettigree, pettigrue, wild myrtle, shepherd's myrtle, prickly box
Scientific name meaning: The origin of the Latin word Ruscus is unknown. Aculeatus is also Latin and means furnished with spines or prickles
Habitat  Butcher's broom can be found in dry woodland. |
Overall structure  A leggy, dark green plant reaching 1m tall. It appears to grow in clumps as it spreads using rhizomes. |
Cladodes  The true leaves are reduced to tiny papery-like scales. The larger leaf-like structures are cladodes: flattened, specialised stem that can photosynthesise. They are tough and have a sharp point at there tip. |
Stem  The stem is tough and only a few millimetres. |
Flower  The flowers appear from January to April in the centre of the cladodes. They are up to 5mm in diameter and have six white-green petals. Plants are either male or female. |
Fruit  The red berries appear on the female plant from October to May and reach 1cm across. |
Possible lookalikes  May be confused with privet (Ligustrum spp), which has mildly toxic berries and leaves. However, it's leaves are flexible unlike the stiff, spiky cladaoes of butcher's broom. May also be confused with smoother-leaved specimens of holly but the berries are borne on small stems rather than positioned in the centre of the leaves. |
Use as a food The young shoots can be eaten like asparagus, which is a relative of butcher's broom, but are bitter tasting and become toxic and spiky with age. The seed is roasted to make a coffee substitute Hazards The berries are mature plant are toxic and can cause vomiting and blood pressure disruption
Use in herbal medicine and medicine Has been used to treat haemorrhoids, low blood pressure, constipation and skin itching. Also used as a diuretic, diaphoretic, depurative and deobstruant
If you are suffering from any ailment or need medical advice, please see your General Practitioner Other uses Gathered dried stems have been used to clean butcher's blocks and as a scourer
Importance to other species Provides a food source for birds.
Always stay safe when foraging. You need to be 100% sure of your identification, 100% sure that your foraged item is edible, and 100% sure that you are not allergic to it (it is good practice to always try a small amount of any new food you are consuming). If in doubt, leave it out!
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