0295 



BROOM 



Family: LEGUMINOSAE. 



Reproductive system: DlADELPHY,DECANDRY. 



The stem of the common broom, Genista scoparia, LAM., is about three feet high 

 and has small, slightly hairy, ternate leaves. The large yellow flowers form a kind of 

 spike. The calyx, almost entire, is divided at the top into two parts, one with two teeth 

 and the other with three. The corolla is papilionaceous. The ten stamens unite in a tube 

 forming a sheath around the pistil that terminates in a long, recurved style. The fruit is an 

 oblong, flat pod with long hairs on its edges. 



FLOWERS: in April, May, and June. 

 RANGE: France and Europe. 



The Spanish broom. Genista juncea, LAM. [Translator's note: now named 

 Spartium junceum], forms a bush five or six feet tall. Its many branches, quite similar to 

 bulrushes, bear a few sparse, lanceolate leaves. The yellow flowers appear in erect 

 clusters at the ends of the branches. The calyx is small and is cleaved only on one side. 

 The corolla consists of a reflexed standard, two wings spaced apart, and a carina of two 

 petals. The ten stamens are not covered by the carina. The fruit is a flat oblong pod with 

 several seeds. 



FLOWERS: from July until September. 



RANGE: southern France and part of Europe. 



The dyer's greenweed, Genista tinctoria, LINN., grows about two feet high. The 

 leaves are lanceolate, entire, small, and sparse. The flowers, a beautiful yellow, are small. 



