Scorpion broom
Genista scorpius
Family · Fabaceae · Irritating
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The armed broom of northeastern Iberian limestone, covered in long rigid spines set like stings. In April it turns completely yellow and is one of the best bee plants of the dry interior.
Scrubland · Roadsides and waste ground · Fields and pasture · Uplands
Also known asthorny broom
How to tell it
Long, straight, very stiff spines coming off the branch at right angles. Tiny, sparse leaves. Yellow pea flowers clustered along the spines. Limestone soils only.
What it is confused with
No dangerous lookalikes known in the Iberian Peninsula.
What it is for
Bread-oven fuel across inland Aragón and Castile, gathered with a fork because of the spines. An excellent nectar plant.
Where it occurs
Each square is an area with recorded observations of this plant. The lighter background is the set of areas where any of the entries has been observed, and serves as a reference. Note what this is not: it is not where the plant lives, it is where people record it, so trails and towns always look fuller than the mountains. Data from GBIF.
Sources
Community
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