''Ruscus hyrcanus'' is a perennial evergreen woody shrub-like or small compact bush plant. It is in the asparagus family.

Description and habitat

The species grows to approximately 30-50 centimeters tall and is very prickly. Stems always are green; ordinary woody, rigid, branched at the end in a whorl with spreading-procumbent branches.

Cladode Phylloclades and cladodes are flattened, photosynthetic shoots, which are usually considered to be modified branches. The two terms are used either differently or interchangeably by different authors. ''Phyllocladus'', a genus of conifer, is name ...

s have a length of 10–25 millimeters; they are flattened, ovate,

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

, leathery, rigid, and tapering to a thorn at their extremity; their both sides are shiny green. ''R. hyrcanus'' leaves are very reduced, small and bractiform. The flower is purplish or whitish,

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

, marcescent with six spreading divisions, and solitary or geminate, arising in the axil of a

, firm bract on the median rib of the upper face of cladodes. Male flower has three

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s and sweating in a tube; female flower has an

ovary The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...

with three biovulated lobes. The fruit is a red globular berry, about one centimeter in diameter. It is native to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

and

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

Conservation

The species is of conservation concern in Azerbaijan, where it is listed in the

Red Book of Azerbaijan The ''Red Book of Azerbaijan'' () is an official state document on the status of rare and endangered species of wild animals and plants in Azerbaijan. It contains information about the state, distribution and protection measures of animal and plant ...

. It is protected on lands such as

Hirkan National Park Hirkan National Park ( az, Hirkan Milli Parkı) — is a National Parks of Azerbaijan, national park of Azerbaijan. It was established in an area in Lankaran Rayon and Astara Rayon administrative districts on February 9, 2004 on the basis of the ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4197378 hyrcanus Flora of Iran Flora of Armenia Flora of Azerbaijan Flora of the Crimean Peninsula