Flora of New Zealand Series

Spanish broom

Deciduous shrub up to 3 m high; twigs sparsely to moderately clothed in appressed hairs, becoming ± glabrous, rounded, striate and glaucous-green to dark green. Mature branches with few lvs; lvs glabrous or sparsely to densely hairy, simple, entire, elliptic to oblong or ± linear on mature branches, acute to obtuse, (8)-15-25 mm long, up to 45 mm long in shaded shoots or seedlings; petioles 1-2 mm long. Infl. with usually numerous fragrant fls; pedicels 2-5 mm long; bract subtending pedicel narrowly triangular, 2-4 mm long; bracteole subtending calyx linear, c. 2 mm long. Calyx ± glabrous, unilabiate. Corolla 22-28 mm long. Pod becoming glabrous, oblong and flattened, 50-90 mm long; seeds smooth, dark brown.

N.: Auckland City, locally common in Hawke's Bay, locally common to abundant in Wellington Province; S.: Nelson City, Coverham (Marlborough), Port Hills and Christchurch, Otago Peninsula.

Mediterranean 1940

Waste places and dry hillsides.

FL Dec-May.

Spanish broom is often cultivated as an ornamental in gardens and is used in plantings around cities. The fls are fragrant, and the unusually shaped calyx with 5 reduced teeth on one side (Fig. 68) distinguishes Spanish broom from all other wild N.Z. legumes. The stout, rounded green twigs are usually almost leafless in adult plants.

Fig. 68. A Phaseolus lunatus, lf showing stipels; B Spartium junceum, calyx. © All rights reserved. [Image: 4X5U]