Butcher's Broom

Ruscus aculeatus

Also known as Box Holly, Knee Holly, Sweet Broom, Jew's Myrtle, Pettigree

At a glance

Family

Asparagaceae (subfamily Nolinoideae, formerly classified in Ruscaceae or Liliaceae)

Type

Evergreen shrub (subshrub) with flattened, leaf-like stems called cladodes

Parts used

Root and rhizome (primary), young shoots occasionally

Size

1 to 3 feet tall, forming a dense, spiny, upright clump

Bloom

Tiny greenish-white flowers in late winter to spring, followed by round red berries in autumn

Habitat

Dry woodland, scrubland, and rocky shaded slopes across the Mediterranean and Western Europe

Acquisition

Grow or buy

This plant in HerbSense

Key benefits

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Supports healthy circulation

Traditionally used for vein health

Eases feelings of heaviness

Traditionally soothing for hemorrhoids

Traditional uses

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Butcher's broom takes its curious name from an old kitchen habit, butchers once bundled its stiff, spiny stems into brooms to scrub their chopping blocks clean and to keep mice away from hanging meat. Long before that practical use, ancient Greek and Roman physicians, including Dioscorides, recorded the root as a remedy for swelling, kidney complaints, and sluggish circulation. By the medieval period it had become a staple of European herbalism for tired, heavy legs, and that reputation carried it into modern herbal medicine, where the root is still one of the most studied traditional plants for venous and hemorrhoidal support. Its rise from a rough-and-ready cleaning tool to a respected circulatory herb is one of the more charming stories in the apothecary garden.

How to grow & use it

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Pairs well with

✦Horse Chestnut
✦Gotu Kola
✦Witch Hazel

Substitutes

✦Horse Chestnut
✦Gotu Kola

Choose it when

“When your legs feel heavy and tired at the end of a long day, and you find yourself thinking of the old root the herbalists turned to.”

Did you know?

The plant's odd 'leaves' are not true leaves at all but flattened stem tissue called cladodes, and if you look closely, tiny flowers and later berries appear to sprout directly from the middle of each spiny blade, a botanical sleight of hand few other plants pull off.

Safety

Butcher's broom may raise blood pressure and can interact with MAOI antidepressants and blood pressure medications. Only the root is used traditionally, since the bright red berries are mildly toxic, and it is best avoided during pregnancy and breastfeeding.