![]() The alternate leaves are simple, entire and more or less strigose, having short petioles. The shrub is virgately branched and contains no spines, unlike gorse ( Ulex europaeus). Spartium junceum is a perennial shrub, up to 3 m high, with long, slender, leafless or few-leaved, green, rushlike branchlets. General Description:The following description of Spartium junceum is adapted from Munz and Keck (1973). Dry summer plants create a severe fire hazard. Like other broom species, it offers strong competition to other plants and contributes to increased maintenance costs on lands where it becomes established. ![]() junceum is adapted to dryer sites where its lack of leaves and thick waxy stems resist dessication. Fruit Seeds can remain viable in soil for more than 80 years. Flowers The fragrant yellow flowers are borne in loose terminal racemes, unlike those of Cytisus scoparius which are usually solitary in the axils. ![]() Foliage Spanish broom has long, slender, leafless or few-leaved, green branches. Native Range: Meditteranean region & Canary Islands ( REHD) Īppearance Spartium junceum is a perennial shrub, that can grow up to 9.8 ft. Taxonomic Rank: Magnoliopsida: Fabales: Fabaceae © Ron Vanderhoff.Jump to: Resources | Images | Distribution Maps | Sources The mature pod bursts open with a loud crack ejecting seed from the plant, leaving the empty cork-screw shaped shell attached to the stem. The fruit is a soft hairy green pod that turns dark brown in late summer. This exposes the reproductive structures to the underside of the insect, depositing pollen and allowing pollen previously collected to reach the stigma. Pollinating insects cause the hinged keel to deflex when they land. One elongated superior ovary with a curved style (center) nine stamens with fused filaments, and a 10th which is free. The two lower petals form the boat-like keel, and are usually fused together at the lower margins (apex). © Joan Avise.įive petals, the upper-most termed the banner (left) being the largest and most conspicuous. ![]() © Joan Avise.īanner, left 2 wings with keel between. © Joan Avise.ĭeveloping legumes (seed pods with placentas on only one side). Most photosynthesis is done by the stems, not the leaves which fall away in summer. This shrub has erect, thick, little-branched, gray-green, rush-like stems with sparse, small, simple, deciduous leaves. Flowering April-June.īack to Fabaceae of Orange County, Californiaīack to Eudicots of Orange County, Californiaīack to Natural History of Orange County, Californiaīlackstar Canyon Road, Silverado, CA. Its stem fibers have been used for making cloth the flowers produce a yellow dye (Wikipedia). The plant is used as a flavoring, and for its essential oil, known as Genet Absolute. Most common in Santa Ana Mountains, less so along dry streams, Santiago Creek, South Laguna, and San Juan Capistrano ( Roberts). The only species in this genus, often confused with Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius) which it grossly resembles, but easily differentiated by the leaf: S. Introduced to California as an ornamental and along roadsides in the mountains. tall perennial legume native to the Mediterranean, southwest Asia and northwest Africa. Several fragrant, bright yellow 1-inch flowers form near the ends of branches they are very attractive to pollinators.
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