Ulex

Ulex parviflorus

Gorse ( Ulex ) is a genus of flowering plants of the legume family ( Fabaceae ).

Features

There are strong and densely branched shrubs that are armed with thorns. The branches are grooved young to striate. All branches ending in a spine. The leaves are alternate. When the seedlings first leaves are trifoliate. The result leaves are only just, later they are needle-shaped, often reduced pungent phyllodes. In the axils of the leaves are more thorns. Stipules absent.

The flowers are individually up to third in axils of long - or short shoots. Some of them are clustered at the growing ends. Below the calyx are two small bracteoles. The calyx is yellow, thin-skinned and remains until the fruit ripening obtained. It is divided double lip almost to the ground. The lower lip, the upper lip is bidentate, tridentate. The crown is yellow, the boat is hairy woolly on the keel. The stamens are all fused into a tube. The ovary is sitting and hairy. The flowers are pollen butterfly flower with a quick mechanism.

The sleeves are short ovate to linear. The usually tower over the cup, and are hairy. A sleeve containing one to six seeds with Nabelwulst.

Dissemination

The genus is distributed mainly in Western Europe, to a lesser extent in North Africa. Most species are found in the Iberian peninsula. In Central Europe, only the type gorse ( Ulex europaeus ) occurs.

System

Within the subfamily Faboideae the genus is placed in the tribe Genisteae. The genus includes about 20 species. Only Central European species is:

  • Gorse ( Ulex europaeus)

Here are the accepted scientific name of the 11 species and 13 subspecies:

  • Ulex argenteus Ulex argenteus subsp. argenteus
  • Ulex argenteus subsp. erinaceus
  • Ulex argenteus subsp. subsericeus
  • Ulex europaeus subsp. borealis
  • Ulex europaeus subsp. europaeus
  • Ulex europaeus subsp. latebracteatus
  • Ulex genistoides subsp. genistoides
  • Ulex genistoides subsp. spectabilis
  • Ulex parviflorus subsp. africanus
  • Ulex parviflorus subsp. eriocladus
  • Ulex parviflorus subsp. Funkii
  • Ulex parviflorus subsp. jussiaei
  • Ulex parviflorus subsp. parviflorus
Rosids Ovary (botany)
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