0049 



GORSE 



Family: LEGUMINOSAE 



Reproductive system: DlADELPHY,DECANDRY 



This small shrub, the European gorse [Translator's note: also called furze or 

 whin], Ulex europaeus, Linn., grows in several of our provinces in the driest soils. The 

 stem is three or four feet high, densely branched, forming an evergreen thicket. The 

 leaves are small, narrow, sharp, and rough; they appear early in spring and turn into 

 spines. The yellow flowers are on short peduncles at the ends of the branches. The 

 asymmetric calyx consists of two or four deeply divided sections, colored, and unequal in 

 size. The corolla is polypctalous and papilionaceous and has a carina in two sections. The 

 ten stamens are joined by their filaments in a tube that surrounds the pistil. The ovary is 

 oblong, cylindrical, and crowned by a style and stigma. The fruit is an oblong pod, a bit 

 longer than the calyx, slightly swollen, and contains only a few seeds. 



FLOWERS: during a large part of the year. 



RANGE: France and Europe. 



NOMENCLATURE. German, Skorpionkraut, heckensamen. English, farre, whin, 

 gorze. Spanish, aliaga. Dutch, heybrem. Portuguese, tojo. Commonly called le genet 

 epineux , lejonc marin, lande [Translator's notes: broom, sea-rush, heath]. 



USES. It can be used for decorating groves of trees in spring or autumn. 



In districts where it grows naturally, it's used to feed cattle when other fodder is 

 scarce. To do this, the young shoots are harvested and crushed with mallets on wood 

 blocks. After the thorns are broken up, the plant provides very good nourishment for 

 cattle and horses. Bundles of it are also used for heating ovens or for 



