Calicotome spinosa

Spiny spiny broom ( Calicotome spinosa)

The Spiny spiny broom ( Calicotome spinosa ) is a species that to the subfamily of Fabaceae ( Faboideae ) belongs within the legume family ( Fabaceae ).

Features

The deciduous, sparrig branched shrub with vigorous sprout thorns reaches a height of one to two meters. The young shoots are slightly hairy, but later glabrous. The stalked leaves are alternate and pinnately arranged in threes. The oval leaflets are up to 1.5 cm long. This fall off in early summer and turn black on drying. The flowers are golden yellow and about 1.5 cm long. These are at 1-4 in the leaf axils. The cup has the heyday no teeth. Bloom time is from April to May The 4 cm long fruits are bald sleeves mature black shine. They appear from July.

Occurrence

As the site Macchien, shrub thickets, Garigues, rock shrubbery or burnt areas are preferred. The species occurs only in the western Mediterranean region and is occasionally also used horticulturally.