590 GENISTA 



like, grooved, covered with short, silky hairs when young. Leaves few and 

 inconspicuous, to f in. long, linear. Racemes short, silky, distributed 

 along the branches ; | to i| ins. long, carrying from five to fifteen blossoms. 

 Flowers milky white and delightfully fragrant, ^ in. long ; the petals covered 

 with silky hairs, the calyx dark, and contrasting with the petals. Pod oval, 

 ^ in. long, containing mostly one (but sometimes two) black-brown seeds. 



Native of S. Europe and N. Africa ; introduced, according to Aiton, in 

 1690, but always very rare because of its tenderness. In the Scilly Isles 

 it thrives admirably, but near London it needs the protection of a sunny, 

 sheltered wall, such as that outside a hothouse. The soil must be lightish 

 and well drained. In its native country the thin flexible branches are used 

 for tying in the same way as willows are here. 



G. NYSSANA, Petrovic. NiSSA BROOM. 



A deciduous, erect shrub of sparse habit, thickly covered with soft hairs in 

 all its parts branches, leaves, flowers, and pods. Branches leafy, but little 

 forked, slender, erect, slightly furrowed. Leaves trifoliolate ; leaflets linear, 

 pointed, \ to f in. long, f- in. or less wide, margins slightly decurved. Flowers 

 yellow, \ in. long, in slender terminal racemes 4 to 6 ins. long, each flower 

 produced in the axil of a trifoliolate, leaflike bract, which becomes smaller 

 towards the apex of the inflorescence. The growth of the year, including 

 branch and raceme, will measure from 12 to 18 ins. in length. Pod short, 

 thick, ovate, pointed, carrying one or two seeds. 



Native of Servia, Albania, Macedonia, etc. ; introduced to Kew in 1899. 

 It has proved quite hardy, and is most distinct in its dense covering of short 

 soft hairs. The specific name refers to Nissa in Servia, one of its habitats. 



G. OVATA, Waldstein. 



(G. tinctoria var. ovz.iz.,Schultze.} 



A deciduous shrub, 2 to 4 ft. high, with erect, slightly grooved, shaggy 

 young shoots. Leaves ovate or narrow oblong, the largest i^ ins. long and 

 i in. wide, hairy at the margins and beneath. Flowers borne in short, dense 

 racemes i| to 2 ins. long ; yellow, each flower | to f in. long. Pod hairy. 



Native of Central and S. Europe. Usually regarded as a species, this is 

 closely allied to G. tinctoria, differing chiefly in its much broader leaves, and 

 its .conspicuously hairy stems, pods, etc. The true plant is rarely seen, the 

 one commonly grown under the name being one of the numerous forms of 

 G. tinctoria var. elation 



G. PILOSA, Linnceus. 



A deciduous shrub growing i to i^ ft. high, procumbent when young, after- 

 wards forming a low, tangled mass of slender, twiggy shoots. Leaves distri- 

 buted along the branchlets of the year, but gathered in clusters on the year-old 

 shoots ; they are simple, j to ^ in. long, narrowly obovate, the margins folded 

 upwards, and the lower surface covered with closely pressed, silvery hairs. 

 Flowers bright yellow, produced singly or in pairs (but each on its own short 

 stalk) from the leaf-axils, the whole forming a crowded raceme 2 to 6 ins. long. 

 When in blossom the whole plant becomes a mass of bright yellow. Pods 

 | to I in. long, narrow, silky on the surface, two- to six-seeded. 



This pretty broom is spread widely over the southern half of Europe, and 

 is also a native of gravelly heaths, etc., in the south and south-west of Britain. 

 It is valuable for forming a dense covering for the ground, even for plots 

 planted with groups of taller shrubs or trees, provided of course it is not 



