Flora of New Zealand Series

tree lucerne

Branched evergreen shrub or small tree up to 5 m high; twigs ± glabrous but downy when young, green, rounded and only slightly angled. Lvs finely downy when young, becoming ± glabrous above and below at full size, sometimes remaining finely puberulent especially near midrib below, petiolate, 3-foliolate; leaflets elliptic, apiculate, 20-40 mm long; terminal leaflet slightly > laterals; petiolules 2-3 mm long. Fls in axillary fascicles or racemes of (1)-3-8-(12); pedicels 7-13 mm long. Calyx densely hairy, c. 1/2 length of corolla; upper lip shallowly 2-toothed, the lower ± entire. Corolla white, c. 15-18 mm long. Pod tomentose but ± glabrous when fully mature, grey to black, oblong, many-seeded, 30-60 mm long; seeds shiny black, ellipsoid, compressed, c. 5 mm long.

N.: scattered throughout; S.: Nelson City, Marlborough, N. Canterbury, vicinity of Christchurch and Banks Peninsula, Dunedin and Otago Peninsula; St.: Halfmoon Bay.

La Palma, Canary Is 1919

Dry waste places, riverbeds, coastal sites and hillsides; particularly well-established in dry coastal hilly sites, less common in areas with heavy frost.

FL (Apr)-May-Oct.

Tree lucerne has usually been known in N.Z. as Cytisus proliferus. Chamaecytisus is now accepted as a genus distinct from Cytisus. Two or 3 Chamaecytisus spp. occur on the Canary Is; N.Z. plants lack the silky villous undersurface of the lvs which characterises C. proliferus (L.) Link and also better match C. palmensis in lf width and shape, and in fl. length. C. palmensis is sometimes treated as a var. of C. proliferus, but the 2 taxa have been grown from seed in N.Z. and appear very distinct. Tree lucerne was originally introduced as a hedging plant and for stock fodder, it is now being strongly promoted as a forage crop for stock and for honey production. The Spanish name tagasaste is sometimes used in N.Z.