Flora of North America species comparison

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Ulex

furze, gorse
Habit Shrubs, heavily armed.
Stems

erect, extensively branched from base, striate, shoots modified to thorns, 1–3 cm, new growth glaucous, older stems hirsute to tomentose, hairs gray to red-brown.
Leaves

persistent, alternate, unifoliolate or odd-pinnate (3-foliolate in seedlings), leaflets gradually reduced to phyllodes;

stipules absent;

petiolate;

phyllodes spinelike, surfaces pubescent.
Inflorescences

1–5-flowered, axillary, usually clusters, rarely short racemes;

bracts absent;

bracteoles 2, immediately subtending calyx.
Flowers

papilionaceous;

calyx bilabiate, lobes 5, abaxial lip 3-lobed, adaxial lip 2-lobed;

corolla yellow;

stamens 10, monadelphous;

anthers dorsifixed;

ovary sessile;

style incurved, glabrous.
Fruits

legumes, partly enclosed by calyx, pedicellate, slightly compressed, ovoid, oblong, or linear, dehiscent, densely villous.
Seeds

1–6, reniform.
x

= 16.

Ulex
Distribution
from USDA
w Europe; n Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in South America, c, n Europe, Asia, Africa, Pacific Islands (Hawaii, New Zealand), Australia]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Species ca. 20 (1 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 11. Author: Debra K. Trock.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae
Subordinate taxa
U. europaeus
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 741. (1753): Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 329. (1754)
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).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America, OregonFlora, UW Burke Herbarium

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