Silvery anthyllis
Anthyllis cytisoides
Family · Fabaceae · Harmless
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The silvery shrub that dominates the arid scrub of southeast Spain, with spikes of pale yellow flowers along thin rods. Where it rules, the soil is poor, dry and has probably been ploughed.
Where it grows
Scrubland · Roadsides and waste ground · Fields and pasture
Also known asshrubby kidney vetch
In flower
How to tell it
The whole plant is covered in flattened white hairs giving it a silvery sheen. Three-leaflet leaves, the middle one larger. Pale yellow flowers in long narrow spikes.
What it is confused with
No dangerous lookalikes known in the Iberian Peninsula.
What it is for
Emergency fodder and a restoration plant for degraded soils in semi-arid zones, where few species take hold. A good nectar plant.