| 释义 |
ˈbutcher's ˈbroom
[See quot. 1847.]
Common name of Ruscus aculeatus (family Liliaceæ, tribe Asparageæ), also called Knee Holly, a curious low-growing shrubby evergreen, with rigid branched stems, and coriaceous spiny leaves, or more strictly phyllodes, bearing on their disk the flower and fruit. It is found in the south of England, and is the only native endogenous shrub.
1562Turner Herbal ii. 60 The wild myrte tre..is called in Englishe bochers brome. 1578Lyte Dodoens vi. xiii. 674 In Shoppes it is called Ruscus; in English Kneeholme, Kneehul, Butchers Broome and Petigree. 1718Quincy Compl. Disp. 131 Butchers broom..is of an austere and bitterish Taste. 1847Rural Cycl. I. 550 The whole plant is gathered by butchers, and made into besoms for sweeping their blocks and shops; and hence it obtained the name of butcher's broom. 1859W. Coleman Woodlands (1862) 133 Botanically speaking, the Butcher's Broom is only a half-shrubby plant. |