Butcher's broom
Ruscus aculeatus
Family · Asparagaceae · Irritating
The red-berried plant of the understorey, which seems to have spiny leaves but has no leaves at all: what pricks are flattened stems. The flower is born in the middle of that false leaf, which happens in nothing else.
Oak woods · Scrubland · Walls and rocks · Uplands
Also known asknee holly, box holly
How to tell it
Look for the flower or berry emerging from the middle of the false leaf, not from the edge or the axil: that is the definitive mark. Stiff, dark green false leaves ending in a spine. A large red berry in winter.
What it is confused with
Holly
Ilex aquifolium
Both spiny, red-berried and protected. Holly is a tree with true wavy leaves; butcher's broom is a low herb whose false leaves bear the flower in the middle.
Open sheet →What it is for
The young shoots are eaten like asparagus in several regions, and that is what they are gathered for in spring. The berries are not eaten. It was a butcher's brush, the use behind its English name.
Traditionally used as food. This is not permission to eat it.
The law says
Protected under the Habitats Directive and national law, and heavily gathered for Christmas decoration. Cutting branches for sale requires authorisation.