CYTISUS 



113 



XJlex europaeus. Fukze (127) or Gorse is a leafless thorny plant 

 (2-6 feet), with large, J inch, fragrant yellow pea-like flowers in the 

 axils of the upper thorns, cultivated for the 

 showy flowers which bloom April to June 



Fig. 129. — Dyer's Greenweed. 



FiQ. 130. — Hairy Broom. 



and frequently again in September and October ; oblong pod J inch long. 

 It is especially suited for seaside planting and grows best in sandy or 

 gravelly soil. The green twigs are striped. There are other species of 

 the genus, much less hardy, which might be cultivated South. 

 (See key, to this and the following two genera, after Genista.) 



[Seeds ; twig cuttings.] 



Cytisus. The Brooms are a large group (45 species) of more or less 

 leafless shrubs with large yellow, white, or purple pea-like flowers and 

 elongated pea-like pods. The leaves, if enlarged and complete, are 

 3-bladed and alternate but are often reduced to a single blade or almost 

 absent. Most of the species bloom in May and June. The commonest 

 in America is Scotch Broosi (128)— Cytisus scop^rius — 5 to 10 feet high 

 with erect slender angular green branches and leaf-blades J to J inch 

 long. The flowers, f inch long, are usually yellow with more or less of a 

 crimson tinge. The pods are nearly black with hairy edges, 1-2 inches 

 long, containing several seeds and ending in a slender coiled tip. (See 

 key after next genus.) [Seeds ; twig cuttings ; layers.] 



apgar's shrubs — 8 



