Butchers Broom

Just before Christmas I found at the market these prickly green branches with red berries. It is called Butchers Broom (Ruscus aculeatus) but False Holly would be a better name because it is used as a substitute for the real thing. However, no need to buy it, to pick some branches from the woods does no harm. Today, after decorating homes for the holidays, there is enough left. It is a small shrub with stiff and straight branches, growing in the shadow of deciduous trees.

When you have a good look, you can still find some small greenish flowers. They are seated in the center of a leaf, or so it seems. But this false holly has no leaves, they are cladodes, branches flattened into an oval shape. It looks a little bit like asparagus which belongs to the same family and has also cladodes.