Leaflets are 5–25 mm long, 2–15 mm wide, sparsely hairy on the upper side, paler and more densely hairy on the lower side. Leaves are trifoliate (divided into three leaflets) with the centre leaflet being slightly longer than the outer two. The leaves are shortly petiolate (on a short leaf stalk), also covered with short soft hairs. The stems are ribbed and covered with short soft hairs. This results in less follow-up where the seed-bank will be small.Ĭape Broom ( Genista monspessulana) is an erect, evergreen, perennial shrub to 3 m high. Tackle the small, outlying infestations before they set seed.All control programs should aim to reduce the amount of seed produced, with p revention the most cost-effective form of weed control.Control is difficult, with effective control requiring a strategic program integrating a range of techniques including manual removal, burning and chemical applications, and biological control.The movement of soil-stored seed by earth-moving machinery is a major way this weed is spread with early detection and good hygiene within infestations preventing spread.Spread by seed, mature healthy plants form dense impenetrable thickets that can produce many seeds per year forming a large long-lived seed-bank. Readily invading pastures, native woodlands to grasslands, in temperate areas and out-competes other vegetation by shading and nitrogen fixation.Originally from Mediterranean region, Cape Broom ( Genista monspessulana), a Weed of National Significance, is a yellow flowered shrub, 3–5 m tall, highly invasive with serious impacts on the environment, agriculture and the economy in southern Australia.Ashes of broom were used to treat dropsy, while its strong smell was said to be able to tame wild horses and dogs. Most of the species have yellow flowers, but a few have white, orange, red, pink or purple flowers.Ī traditional rhyme from Sussex says: "Sweep the house with blossed broom in May/sweep the head of the household away." Despite this, it was also common to include a decorated bundle of broom at weddings. These genera are all closely related and share similar characteristics of dense, slender green stems and very small leaves, adaptations to dry growing conditions. All genera in this group are from the tribe Genisteae (syn. The brooms belong to the subfamily Faboideae of the legume family Fabaceae, mainly in the three genera Chamaecytisus, Cytisus and Genista, but also in five other small genera (see box, right). It is also the hardiest broom, tolerating temperatures down to about -25 ☌. It makes a shrub about 1–3m tall, rarely to 4m. In late summer, its pea-pod like seed capsules burst open, often with an audible pop, spreading seed from the parent plant. Like most brooms, it has apparently leafless stems that in spring and summer are covered with golden-yellow flowers. One can find it in sunny sites, usually on dry, sandy soils. The most familiar is common broom, that grows in northwestern Europe. Many brooms (though not all) are fire-climax species, adapted to regular stand-replacing fires which kill the above-ground parts of the plants, but create conditions for regrowth from the roots and also for germination of stored seeds in the soil. The greatest diversity one can find in the Mediterranean region. Brooms are a group of evergreen, semi-evergreen, and deciduous shrubs.Īll the brooms and their relatives (including Laburnum and Ulex) grow in Europe, north Africa and southwest Asia.
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