Hairy thorny broom
Calicotome villosa
Family · Fabaceae · Irritating
ToxicIrritant
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The spiny broom of the south, among the first to flower and the least pleasant to push through. It is told by its pods covered in soft white hairs, which contrast with the spines of the rest of the plant.
Where it grows
Scrubland · Montado · Uplands
Also known asspiny broom
In flower
How to tell it
Rigid branches ending in a spine, three-leaflet leaves that fall early, and clearly hairy pods. Yellow flowers, large for the plant's size, in February and March.
What it is confused with
No dangerous lookalikes known in the Iberian Peninsula.
What it is for
None as food: like many scrub legumes, it contains alkaloids. It served as firewood and living hedge.