N. Ord. LEQUMINOS^. Lindl., Veg. K., p. 544 (Fabacea) ; Baill 



Hist. PL, ii ; Le Maout & Dec., p. 365. 

 Tribe Genistea. 



Genus Cytisus,* Linn. B. & H., Gen., i, p. 484; Baill., 

 Hist. PL, ii, p. 334. Species about 40, natives of Europe,' 

 N. Africa, and Western Asia. 



70 



70. Cytisus scoparius,f Li,d; Emim., ii, p . 241 (1822). 



Broom. 



Syn Spartium scoparium, Linn. Genista scoparia, Lam. Sarotham- 

 nus vulgaris, Wimm. S. scoparius, Koch. 



Figures. Woodville, t. 150; Steph. & Ch., t. 67; Hayne, ix, t. 10; 

 Curt., PL Lond., fasc. 5 ; Syme, E. Bot., iii, t. 329 ; Le Maout and 

 Dec., p. 311. 



Description. A bush of 4 or 5 feet in height, with a short stem 

 reaching about 1J inches in diameter, breaking up into very 

 numerous erect branches, bark yellowish-green. Twigs very 

 long and wand-like, erect, tough, blunt at the ends, which are 

 pubescent and grow till killed back by the frost, dark-green, 

 angular, with 5 prominent wings of leaflike character originating 

 from the sides of the attachment of each leaf and passing down 

 between them. Leaves alternate, evidently pentastichous, with- 

 out stipules, small, the lower ones on longish flat stalks, 

 trifoliate, the upper ones sessile, unifoliate, and apparently 

 simple, leaflets sessile \ J inch long, lanceolate or narrow 

 obovate, subacute, entire, dark green and smooth or slightly 

 hairy above, hairy below. Flowers numerous, large, solitary, 

 on rather long smooth stalks in the axils of the sessile leaves, 

 forming lax racemes. Calyx campanulute, laterally compressed, 

 smooth, persistent, divided into 2 brown, scarious, shallow lips, 

 the upper 2-, the lower 3-toothed. Petals 5, papilionaceous, 

 wide- spreading, brilliant yellow, standard roundish, with a short 

 claw, notched, the margin somewhat involute, wings oblong, kt-cl 



* Cytisus, in Greek KVTIO-OG, the classical name for some leguminous shrub, 

 f Scoparius, a mediaeval adjective, from scopes, a broom. 



