| Cytisus multiflorus | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Genus: | Cytisus |
| Species: | C. multiflorus |
| Binomial name | |
| Cytisus multiflorus | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
List
| |
Cytisus multiflorus is a species of legume known by the common names white broom, [3] white spanishbroom [4] and Portuguese broom. [5]
It is native to the Iberian Peninsula, especially frequent in the western half in central and northern interior Portugal [6] and central and northern western Spain. [7] It is better known as an introduced species on other continents, including Australia and North America, where it has become a weed in agricultural land and an invasive species in natural habitats.
Cytisus multiflorus is a shrub growing up to 0.8 metres (2 ft 7 in) or 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) in sprawling height, [7] with a broomlike array of many five-angled flexible branches. Leaves appear mainly on lower branches, each made up of three leaflets. Some leaves grow on the upper branches; these are generally made up of a single leaflet. Each leaflet is under a centimeter long and may be linear to oblong in shape and coated in soft silvery hairs.
The white, pea-like flower is up to a centimeter long and is often marked with a dark pinkish streak near the base. The fruit is a hairy legume pod up to 3 centimetres (1.2 in) long. The pods turn black with age and dehisce explosively to release their four to six seeds away from the parent plant.
This plant is a serious noxious weed of agricultural fields and a colonizing invasive plant in wild lands in parts of Australia and California, [8] where it was first introduced as an ornamental shrub for its prolific white flowers. It is still sometimes grown and sold for landscaping purposes despite its status as a pest plant, with new industry and public education programs resulting. [9] [10]
Media related to Cytisus multiflorus at Wikimedia Commons