There is another clone on offer, 'John Redmond', that can also be relied on for berries. Listed as 'hermaphrodite form' or 'Wheelers Variety', they will grow slowly to less than 1m (3ft) and spread obligingly in width. Enterprising nurserymen do now offer hermaphrodite forms of ruscus and, although they may still be scarce, they can be found. But the general public is at last in luck. Without berries, butcher's broom is a bit dull, but with berries it is a spectacular affair. It also holds traditional medicinal uses, which maily focus around improving blood flow in the veins by contracting them. The implication was that lesser gardeners would never find it and would have to rely on buying quantities of plants in the hope of a chance encounter between male and female plants. Ruscus aculeatus is an herb commonly referred to as Butchers Broom due to its hard roots and (supposed) antibacterial properties being traditionally used to clean the cutting boards of butchers. Diarrhea has been reported with the product Cyclo-3, but is less common with use of other formulations of butcher’s broom. At Great Dixter I often admired a handsome specimen Christopher Lloyd grew that was covered in berries, only to be told that it was the rare hermaphrodite form. Most of this information may seem more curious than tempting, but recently the reasons for giving ruscus a try have become much more compelling.
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