Common name: Spanish Broom
Spartium junceum L. APNI* Description: Erect shrub to 3 m; stems glabrous.
Leaves alternate, 1-foliolate, soon deciduous; leaflets oblong-linear, 1–3 cm long, 2–10 mm wide, almost sessile, glabrous above, paler and appressed-hairy below.
Flowers in open, terminal racemes, 5–30, sweetly scented; pedicles to 3 mm long; calyx 5–7.5 mm long; corolla 2–2.8 cm long, bright yellow.
Pods linear-oblong, 4–10 cm long, 6–7 mm wide, hairy, aging blackish; seeds 12–20, brownish, shiny, 3–3.5 mm long; a pale brown aril present.
Flowering: November–December
Distribution and occurrence: A scattered weed, mostly escaped from cultivation on the Northern and Southern Tablelands. Widely cultivated. Most common on disturbed roadsides.
NSW subdivisions: ?ST, *NWS
Other Australian states: Qld Vic. S.A. Tas.
Text by R.L. Barrett, March 2025
Taxon concept:
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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