Flora of North America species comparison

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Cytisus proliferus

tree lucerne
Habit Shrubs to 1–4(–5) m; twigs becoming pendent, grayish or brownish green, terete, canescent.
Leaves

20–50 mm;

petiole 5–10(–12) mm, densely sericeous;

leaflets 3, blades lanceolate to ovate, 10–30 × 2–6 mm, base cuneate, apex acute, abruptly acuminate, surfaces dull in age, densely appressed-pilose.
Inflorescences

pendent, (1–)3–7(or 8)-flowered.
Pedicels

10–15 mm, sericeous.
Flowers

calyx light green, cylindric, 8–9 mm, tube 5–6 mm, abaxial lip shallowly 3-lobed, adaxial lip widely 2-lobed, densely pubescent;

corolla white, petals clawed, 10–15 mm, banner with purple lines or spots adaxially, reflexed or not, wings equaling banner, sparsely pubescent, keel oblong, shorter than banner.
Legumes

black, flattened, oblong, 3.5–5 cm, with short, straight mucro, surfaces sericeous.
Seeds

(3–)6–10, black, ovoid to rounded, 5–7 mm, strophiolate.
2n

= 48.

Cytisus proliferus
Phenology Flowering Feb–Jun.
Habitat Coastal sage scrub, disturbed annual grasslands, alluvial fans on well-drained gran­itic sandy-loam soils.
Elevation 0–100 m. (0–300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; Atlantic Islands (Canary Islands) [Introduced in North America; introduced also in w South America (Ecuador), Europe (Italy), Australia (Tasmania)]
Discussion

Cytisus proliferus is escaped from cultivation with populations established in Los Angeles, Marin, Santa Barbara, and Santa Clara counties. The California Invasive Plants Council lists it as an alert species. Each plant produces thousands of seeds, which are dispersed by ants and birds.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Cytisus
Sibling taxa
C. multiflorus, C. scoparius, C. striatus
Synonyms Chamaecytisus proliferus
Name authority Linnaeus f.: Suppl. Pl., 328. (1782)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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