RUSCUS STREPTOPHYLLUS

This member of the Ruscaceae family was described by Peter Frederick Yeo in 1966. It is found on Madeira, growing in a rich soil with some water and some sun. It will grow up to 40 centimetres, the flowers are white and blue, and the ear-ring-like fruits are red. The genera name is from its old Latin name. The species name means 'twisted-leaved'. Bit strange, considering it has none.... The bizarre "leaves" with the flowers in the middle are actually not leaves at all, but flattened branches known as phylloclades or cladodes. ') Accordantly to the latest taxonomic system; APG IV 2016, Ruscaceae is now part of the Asparagaceae. The fat roots in Copenhagen. Fruit on a bush in one of Lisbon's Botanical Gardens.