Flora-Fauna

Ruscus aculeatus L.

(First published in Species Plantarum: 1041; 1753)

• Life-form & habit: Evergreen, rhizomatous subshrub with erect to ascending shoots, 30–80 cm tall. Stems rigid, green, photosynthetic.
• Leaves: True leaves reduced to minute scales; photosynthesis carried out by cladodes (flattened branchlets) that are ovate-lanceolate, 15–25 × 10–20 mm, leathery, ending in a sharp spine-like tip.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Solitary, small greenish-white flowers borne in the center of the cladodes. Perianth segments 6, free, spreading; stamens 6; ovary superior, unilocular.
• Fruit: Globose, shiny red berry, 8–12 mm diameter, containing 1(–2) seeds.
• Phenology: Flowers winter to early spring (Dec–Apr); fruits persistent into the following season.
• Habitat & ecology: Understorey of Mediterranean evergreen woodland, maquis, and scrub; also on rocky and shaded slopes, often on limestone.
• Lebanese localities: Documented in Mediterranean woodlands and coastal mountain slopes.
• Native range: Mediterranean and adjacent regions including Albania, Algeria, Azores, Baleares, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Corse, Cyprus, East Aegean Islands, France, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kriti, Krym, Lebanon–Syria, Libya, Morocco, North Caucasus, NW Balkan Peninsula, Palestine, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain, Switzerland, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turkey, and Turkey-in-Europe (POWO).
• Introduced range: Germany, Ireland, Mexico Central, Mexico Southeast (POWO).