Beautiful Fillers- Ruscus

Ruscus is a genus of six species of flowering plants, native to western and southern Europe (north to southern England), Macaronesia, northwest Africa, and southwestern Asia east to the Caucasus. It grows well in shade to dappled sunlight and is extremely tolerant of root competition. Though there are around 20 species of Ruscus, only three are most commonly cultivated. The obvious differences are in the leaves (called cladodes) and the flap over the flower.

Three commonly Grown Ruscus.
I.    Ruscus hypoglossum – From Italy, Czechoslovakia and Turkey. Flowers occur on both sides of cladodes. Has a more pronounced second ‘leaf’ (flower bract). Spineless dull green cladodes with a pointed tip. Occasionally grown in the subtropical Australia but more commonly seen in cooler temperate regions of Australia and overseas. It is actually an evergreen perennial although it looks more like a shrub and it grows to about 1metre tall and as wide. What looks like foliage is in fact cladodes (modified stems that function as leaves) and the tiny green and purple flowers that from a distance look like small insects sit in the centre of each cladode.
II.    Ruscus hypophyllum – From northwest Africa, Sicily, southeast of France and south of Spain. Flowers appear on both sides of cladodes. Has a less pronounced second flower bract. Spineless shiny green cladodes with a pointed tip. Grows up to 70 cm high. Most widely grown in the subtropical Australia.
III.    Ruscus aculeatus – From the Mediterranean regions of Europe. Pinkish-mauve flowers appear on the upper-side of cladodes. Upright ‘stems’ are branched. Shiny green spine-tipped cladodes. Ruscus a low evergreen Eurasian shrub, with flat shoots known as cladodes that give the appearance of stiff, spine-tipped leaves. Small greenish flowers appear in spring, and are borne singly in the center of the cladodes. The female flowers are followed by a red berry, and the seeds are bird-distributed, but the plant also spreads vegetatively by means of rhizomes. Ruscus aculeatus occurs in woodlands and hedgerows, where it is tolerant of deep shade, and also on coastal cliffs. It is also widely planted in gardens, and has spread as a garden escape in many areas outside its native range.
Other Species
•    Ruscus colchicus- Caucasus.
•    Ruscus hyrcanus - An endemic and relict bush in the Talish Mountains, Azerbaijan. Protected in the Hirkan national Park
•    Ruscus microglossus- Southern Europe.
•    Ruscus streptophyllus - Madeira.

What appear to be shiny deep green leaves are in fact flattened leaf-like stems or cladodes. People are often amazed to see the small white flowers with violet centres emerging from the centre of these ‘leaves’,  Making this a great curiosity garden or pot plant.