2518

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

«. 1. R, aculea'tus L. The prickly, or common, Butcher’s Broom.

Identification. Lin. Sp. PI., 1474.; Willd. Sp. PI., 4. p. 874.; FI. Br., p. 1073."; Eng. Bot., t. 560.;Hook. Scot., p. 288. ; Woodv. Suppl.. t. 237.; Mill. Ulust., t. 96.; Bull. Fr., t. 243.; Engl. FI.,4. p. 235.; Hook. Br. FI., p. 431.; Lindl. Synop., p. 270.; Mart. Mill., No. 1.; Ait. Hort. Kew.,ed. 2., 5. p. 420.; Desf. Hist, des Arb., &c., 1. p. 11.; Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836; Bon Jard., ed. 1837.Synonymes. -ftdscus, No. 1238., Hall. Hist., 2. p. 116., Rail Syn., 262., Trag. Hist., p. 919., Matth.Valgr., 2. p. 555., Cam. Epit., p. 935., Bank. Hist., 1. p.579., Bauh. Pin., 470.; MyrtacanthaLob. Ic., 637.; R. f. Bruscus Ger. Emac., p. 907.; R. rayrtifblius aculeatus Tourn. Inst., ShawAfric, No. 518., Du Ham. Arb., 2. 236. t. 57.; iJuscus Dod. Pempt, 744.; Box Holly, Knee Holly,wild Myrtle, prickly Pettigree; Houx Frelon, petit Houx, Buis piquant, Fragon epineux, Fragonpiquant, Fr. ; Stechender Mausedorn, Ger.

Engravings. Woodv. Suppl., t. 237.; Mill. Illust., t. 96.; Bull. Tr., t. 243.; Lob. Ic., 637.; Eng.Bot., t. 560.; and our fig. 2387.

Spec. Char., $c. Leaves ovate, sharp-pointed, flowering on the upper side,without a leaflet. (Smith.) An evergreen suffrutescent plant, a native ofBritain; flowering in March and April, and ripening its berries in thebeginning of winter.

Varieties.

c- R. a. 2 rotundifolius Barrel. Ic., 517., Mart. Mill.; R. vulgaris folioampliore Dill. Elth., 333., 334. t. 251. f. 324.; has the leaves some-what larger and rounder than those of the species.

«e R. a. 3 laxus Smith; R. laxus Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836. — Mr. Fairbairn,gardener to the Company of Apothecaries at Chelsea, presented tothe Linnsean Society, in 1796, a- specimen of Auscus which hadbeen long in cultivation in the garden under his care, but had tillthen been overlooked. The leaves were elliptic, acute at both ends,and the branches loose. From the last circumstance, Sir JamesEdward Smith gave it the name of R. laxus. (See Lin. Trans., iii.p. 334.; and Eng. FI., iv. p. 235.) R. flexuosus Mill. No. 6., Pro-fessor Martyn thinks, is probably this variety.

Description, fyc. Suffruticose plants, with tough, stiff, round, green, striatedstems, from 1 ft. 6 in. to 3 ft. in height, sending out from the sides many shortbranches. The stems do not flower till the second year ;after which they die down to the ground, like those of theraspberry, and some species of Smilax and Asparagus.

The leaves are a continuation of the branches; equallyfirm, and equally durable, as they never drop off, butdie along with the branch, or frond. The leaves arenumerous, and of the same size and shape as those of themyrtle, but very stiff, and ending in short prickly points :they are alternate, about ^ in. long, and £ in. broad nearthe base; ovate, quite entire, and sessile. From themiddle of the leaf above, comes out a single flower, ona very short pedicel: it is small and yellowish-green, orpurplish. When it first appears, which is about Marchor April, it is of the size and shape of a small pin’s head ;and, when it is fully expanded, which is in May or June,it is composed of three outer sepals, which are widish, and three nar-rower sepals, which are within the others, and are like rays ending in anarrow point: the last three some botanists consider as petals. The roots arethick, fleshy, white, branching at the crown, and afterwards twining abouteach other, and putting out frequent fibres, like those of the asparagus; oblique,and striking deep into the ground. The circumstance of the flower beingproduced on the leaf, without any apparent stalk, is so remarkable, that ithas led some botanists to suppose that the leaves are, in fact, only expandedbranches, or, rather, footstalks to the flowers. According to Woodward, asquoted by Professor Martyn, “ the flower does not properly grow out of theleaf, but on a pedicel springing from the bosom of the leaf, which is immersedbeneath the outer coat, whence it may with ease be dissected.” The femaleflowers are succeeded by bright red berries, which are almost as large as wildcherries, and of a sweetish taste ; having two large orange-coloured seeds in