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dyer's broom, dyer's greenweed, woadwaxen, woodwaxen

Habit Shrubs prostrate to erect, 0.5–2 m. Stems much branched from base, glabrous or sparsely and irregularly hairy.
Leaves

sessile or subsessile;

stipules 0.8–1.5 mm;

petiole less than 1 mm;

leaflet 1, blade broadly elliptic, lanceolate, or oblanceolate to obovate, 5–50 mm, base rounded, margins sparsely ciliolate, apex aristulate, surfaces glabrous or sparsely pubescent along margins and midvein.

Inflorescences

1–6-flowered, terminal, simple or compound racemes (30–)40–60(–80) mm;

bracts foliaceous, 6–9 mm.

Pedicels

1–2 mm.

Flowers

calyx 3–7 mm, glabrous or glabrate to densely pubescent;

banner broadly ovate, 8–12 mm, glabrous;

wings and keel equaling banner, glabrous.

Legumes

narrowly oblong, 15–25 mm, glabrous.

Seeds

4–10, yellow-tan, cordate, 1–1.3 mm.

2n

= 48, 96.

Genista tinctoria

Phenology Flowering Mar–Aug.
Habitat Recently disturbed areas.
Elevation 0–1500 m. (0–4900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CT; DC; ID; MA; MD; ME; MI; MS; NJ; NY; OH; RI; VA; VT; WA; WI; BC; NS; ON; QC; Europe; intro­duced also in South America (Argentina); Asia (China) [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Genista tinctoria is the most widely distributed and variable taxon in the genus. Two characters that seem to show the most variation are the presence or absence of indument on the leaves, calyx, and fruit and the growth form, with prostrate plants having inflorescences consisting of few-flowered racemes and more erect plants having compound or paniculate racemes. Local and regional floras in the areas to which these plants are endemic often recognize varieties; however, there seems to be no good geographic or genetic basis for doing so.

(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. monspessulana
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 710. (1753)
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