Flora of North America species comparison

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Genista monspessulana

French broom
Habit Shrubs 1.5–3 m. Stems sericeous, hairs silvery.
Leaves

petiolate;

stipules deciduous, 0.5–2 mm;

petiole 1–5 mm;

leaflets 3, blades oblanceolate to obovate, 10–15 mm, base cuneate, margins ciliolate, apex obtuse and mucronate, surfaces sericeous abaxially, glabrous adaxially.
Inflorescences

4–10-flowered, axillary, clustered on short shoots, dense, 15–60 mm;

bracts caducous, narrowly linear, 2–3 mm.
Pedicels

1–3 mm.
Flowers

calyx 5–7 mm, sericeous;

banner ovate, 10–15 mm, glabrous;

wings and keel slightly shorter than banner, wings glabrous, keel tomentose abaxially and distally.
Legumes

oblong, 15–25 mm, densely sericeous.
Seeds

(3–)5–7(–10), tan to dark brown, ovoid, 1–1.3 mm;

hilum greenish yellow.
2n

= 44, 46, 48.

Genista monspessulana
Phenology Flowering Feb–Aug.
Habitat Grasslands, oak woodlands, coastal scrub, chaparral, conifer and mixed evergreen forests, mostly in disturbed areas.
Elevation 0–900 m. (0–3000 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; BC; s Europe; w Asia; n Africa; Atlantic Islands (Azores, Canary Islands) [Introduced in North America; introduced also in South America (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay)]
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The flowers and possibly other parts of Genista monspessulana have been reported as toxic. The species apparently hybridizes with G. canariensis and G. stenopetala Webb & Berthelot. Genista stenopetala was previously reported from California; it now appears that the only known specimens of the species were cultivated and that many specimens previously annotated to this name were hybrids with G. monspessulana. The hybrid is found in Oregon.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Genista
Sibling taxa
G. canariensis, G. linifolia, G. maderensis, G. tinctoria
Synonyms Cytisus monspessulanus, Teline monspessulana
Name authority (Linnaeus) L. A. S. Johnson: Contr. New South Wales Natl. Herb. 3: 98. (1962)
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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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