Ruscus hypoglossum

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Mouse Thorn
Ruscus hypoglossum at The Grand Canyon Of Crimea.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Nolinoideae
Genus: Ruscus
Species:
R. hypoglossum
Binomial name
Ruscus hypoglossum

Ruscus hypoglossum is a small evergreen shrub with a native range from Italy north to Austria and Slovakia and east to Turkey and Crimea.[1] Common names include spineless butcher's-broom,[2] mouse thorn and horse tongue lily. The species name comes from two Greek words ὑπό (hypo) and γλῶσσα (glōssa) meaning under and tongue.

Description[]

The mature plant shrub will eventually reach about 46 cm (18 in) in height. It has a creeping rootstock and leaf-like phylloclades or flattened stems that are about 8 cm (3 in) long to 4 cm (1+1⁄2 in) wide tapering at both ends. True leaves are smaller green appendages around the flowers. Small yellow flowers bloom in the axil of a leaf-like bract 2.5–3.8 cm (1–1.5 in) long on upper side of phylloclade. Plants are dioecious, with male and female flowers produced on separate plants.[3] Fruit is a rarely produced red globose berry 0.6 to 1.3 cm (0.25 to 0.5 in) wide.[4]

Gallery[]

  • True leaf and flower on the phylloclade.

  • Flower.

  • Shrubs.

  • Fruits and seeds.

Etymology[]

Ruscus is derived from an old Latin name for prickly plants.[5]

The specific epithet hypoglossum is derived from Greek and means 'sheathed beneath' or 'below-a-tongue'. The name is in reference to the cladodes of this species, which extend beneath the flowers.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ Halada, Ľ. "Ruscus hypoglossum L. in Slovakia" (PDF). Thaiszia. 4: 183–195. ISSN 1210-0420.
  2. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. ^ Halada, Ľubos; Erdelská, Oľga (2005). "Reproductive biology of Ruscus hypoglossum L. in Slovakia" (PDF). Acta Biologica Cracoviensia. Series Botanica. 47 (1): 213–217.
  4. ^ "Ruscus hypoglossum". University of Connecticut - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Plant Growth Facilities. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  5. ^ a b Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521866453 (hardback), ISBN 9780521685535 (paperback). pp 209, 336
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