LEGUMINOSiE 



LEGUMINOS^E PULSE FAMILY 



Cytisus scoparius, (L.) Link. 



Yellow Scotch-broom, 



Irish-broom, 



May-October Green-broom, 



Hogweed, 

 Bannal, 

 Besom , 

 Broom , 



Cytisus: ancient Roman name of a plant, probably a 



Medicago. 

 Scoparius: Latin for many twigs. 



THE PREFERRED HABITAT: sandy soil. 



THE SHRUB : three feet to five feet high, profusely branched, 

 the stems grey, olive-green; the branchlets dark green, 

 deeply grooved, smooth or nearly so, woody and tough. 



THE LEAVES: alternate; compound, the leaflets oval or 

 obovate, hairy on both surfaces, mucronate at the apex, 

 narrowed at the base, entire. 



THE FLOWERS : in racemes, on slender stems in the axils of 

 the leaves; solitary or in pairs; butterfly-shaped; the keel 

 darker than the upright petals, stamens light yellow. 



THE FRUIT: a pod or legume, flat; when green very hairy 

 on the margins with long, sharp points, later becoming 

 black and hanging open long after the seeds have fallen, 

 when it rattles in the wind. 



One of the showiest and, some claim, one of the hand- 

 somest of Nantucket's bushes. In the late spring, or early 

 summer, its golden yellow pea-shaped blossoms glow afar. 

 Sometimes even the atmosphere seems to be illumined by 

 their shine. Later in the summer the bushes arouse quite 

 as much curiosity if not so much admiration, when the 



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