Ruscus aculeatus L.

Spice Flower Fruit

Family: LILIACEAE

Genus: Ruscus

Catalan common name: Boix marí. Boix mascle. Brusc. Cirerer de Betlem. Cireretes o Guingues del Bon Pastor. Galzeran. Llorer bord.

Spanish common name: Arrayán morisco. Brusco.

Province distribution: Alacant. Balearic Islands. Barcelona. Castelló. Girona. Lleida. Tarragona. València.

Distribution in the islands: Mallorca. Menorca. Ibiza. Formentera. Cabrera.

General distribution (Phytogeography): Mediterranean

Uses and properties: Medicinal. Symbolic uses.

Plants protected by law: Balearic Catalogue.

IUCN Category: LCLeast concern

Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Life-forms: Phanerophyte.

Habitats: Oakforest. Beaches and dunes, sandy soils. Garden plants. Wild olive trees and other sclerophyllous shrublands. Juniperus phoenicea subsp. turbinata forest. Pine wood and shrubland with rosemary and thyme garigue. Humit forest. Sometimes on dune systems.

Characteristics: A small shrub that is characterized by its substituted leaves in the form of flattened branches that resemble these leaves (cladodes), while the true leaves are small scales that are scarcely visible, develops also slightly visible and solitary flowers, greenish or lilac in colour that emerge above the cladodes (demonstrating their cauline nature), fruits are rounded and red, and this colour stands out above the rest of the plants hue. Flowering in winter and spring.