SPARTIUM. 



Inft. 648.) — Leaves ternate, ftalked, obovate. Branches 

 round, ftriated. Flowers lateral, droopinp. Calyx two- 

 lipped, broad, filky. Germen very woolly- — Native of 

 Portugal and Spain. Hardy in our gardens, flowering 

 in June and July. The branches fpread widely, and are 

 clothed with numerous, ftalked, iiYky leaves, ufually fhorter 

 than the large, tumid, pendulous, yeW.ow Jloivers, which are 

 moftly folitary, fometimes in pairs, by the fide of each tuft 

 of leaves, on fimple filky ftalks. The calyx is deeply di- 

 vided, (hallow, fpreading widely, befprinkled with filky 

 hairs. Petals very large, fmooth, rounded and obtufe. 

 Germen clothed with extremely long, woolly hairs, and 

 iheathed in the ^ervaz'asntjlamens, but at length becoming 

 an oblong, comprefled, wavy, very hairy legume, containing 

 feveral feeds. Whatever the plant of Cavanilles' Icones, 

 t. 176, may be, its unequal leaflets, terminal corymbofe 

 tnflorefcence, long (lender calyx, and fmooth germen, are all fo 

 totally unlike the prefent fpecies, that we wonder how even 

 the molt cafual perufal of its name could caufe it to be 

 quoted by Willdenow for fuch. 



17. S. nuiigena. Cluller-flowered White Broom. Ait. 

 ed. I. v. 3. 13. ed. 2. n. 11. Willd. n. 16. (S. fupranu- 

 bium ; Maffon in Linn. Suppl. 319.) — Leaves ternate, 

 ftalked, lanceolate, hairy. Branches round, furrowed. 

 Flowers lateral, aggregate. Upper lip of the calyx abrupt. 

 Germen fmooth. — Difcovered by Mr. Mailon, very high 

 on the peak of Teneriffe, above the clouds, as he meant to 

 exprefs in the fpecific name. It is a greenhoufe plant at 

 Kew, flowering moft part of the fummer. The bufhy 



Jlem, with its copious furrowed tranches, much refembles 

 5. junceum, but the leaves are ternate, fmall, and the 



Jlonuers very much fmaller than in that fpecies, white and 

 fragrant, ranged in lateral tufts along the branches, on filky 

 ftalks. The calyx is hairy or filky, cup-fhaped ; its lower 

 lip elongated ; upper ftiort and abrupt. Legume an inch 

 and a half, or two inches long, curved, comprefted, wavy, 

 quite fmooth. 



18. S. biflorum. Two-flowered Terminal Broom. 

 Desfont. Atlant. v. 2. 133. t. 179. Willd. n. 17. — Leaves 

 ternate, linear-lanceolate, ftalked, fomewhat hairy. Flowers 

 terminal, often in pairs. Calyx villous, its lips nearly 

 equal. Legume fmooth. — Native of mount Atlas, near 

 Tlemfen. Stem bufhy, from one to two feet high, with 

 (lender, angular, leafy branches. Leaves fmall, ftalked, 

 rather filky. Flowers yellow, ereft, one, two, or three at 

 thefummitof each branch, rather fmaller than thofe of the 

 common S-fcoparium. 



19. S. imifolium. Flax-lcavcd Broom. Desfont. At- 

 lant. V. 2. 134. t. 181. Willd. n. 18. Ait. n. 12. (Ge- 

 nifta linifolia ; Linn. Sp. PI. 997. Curt. Mag. t. 442. 

 G. tinftoria hifpanica ; Cluf. Hift. v. i. loi. Geniftella 

 infeftoria ; Ger. Em. 13 16.) — Leaves feflile, ternate, linear- 

 lanceolate, revolutc ; filky beneath. Clufters terminal. 

 Branches angular, furrowed. — Native of Barbary, Spain, 

 and the fouth of France. A hardy greenhoufe plant in 

 England, flowering moft plentifully in May and June. The 



Jlem is ftirubby, much branched, and very leafy. Leaves 

 about an inch long, rendered very beautiful by the (ilvery 

 filkinefs of their under fide, in which they agree with the 

 calyx and young branches. Flowers of a beautiful golden 

 yellow, in denfe tufted cluftcrd. Legume ftiort and broad, 

 clothed with fliaggy hairs. S. umbcllatum, n. 10, having 

 frequently many ternate leaves, and agreeing nearly with 

 the prefent fpecies in habit, legume, and viflorcfcencc, would 

 perhaps have been better placed here. 



26. S. fcoparium. Common Broom. Linn. Sp. PI. 

 996. Willd. n. 19. Fl. Brit. n. i. Engl. Bot. t. 1339. 



Curt. Lond. fafc. 5. t. 52. Woodv. Med. Bot. t. 89. 

 Fl. Dan. t. 313. Dreves Bilderb. t. 48. Ehrh. Arb. 

 56. (Genifta; Ger. Em. 131 1.) — Leaves chiefly ternate, 

 ftalked, obovate. Branches angular. Flowers lateral, fo- 

 litary. Calyx two-lipped, broad, fmooth. Legume 

 fringed. — Cotimon on fandy or gravelly dry hills, princi- 

 pally in the north or middle of Europe. Abundant in Bri- 

 tain, flowering copioufly in May and June, when it makes a 

 highly ornamental appearance. The Jlem is very buftiy, 

 from three to eight feet in height, with innumerable, 

 afcending, angular, fmooth, evergreen twigs. Leaves 

 deciduous, Imooth or fomewhat hairy ; the upper ones 

 generally fimple. Flowers axillary, loofely pendulous, 

 folitary, on long ftalks, large, ufually of a golden yellow; 

 fometimes orange at the outfide ; very rarely of a pale uni- 

 form lemon-colour : their petals fpread widely in hot funny 

 weather. Calyx bell-ftiaped, fmooth, glaucous and purphfh, 

 with two widely-fpreading lips, whofe teeth are minute and 

 downy. Legume comprefted, two inches long, fmooth, 

 fringed at the margin with denfe deciduous hairs. Seeds 

 numerous. 



21. S. arboreum. Tree Broom. Desfont. Atlant. v. 2. 

 131. t. 177. Willd. n. 20. (Cytifus foliis fubrotundis 

 glabris, floribus amplis glomeratis pendulis ; Shaw Phyt. 

 Afr. n. 191.) — Leaves ternate, ftalked, obovate. Branches 

 round, furrowed. Flowers lateral, aggregate, drooping. 

 Calyx two-lipped, fpreading. Legume filky, with clole- 

 prefled hairs. — Found by profeftbr Desfontaines on mount 

 Atlas, and in vallies near Algiers. From eight to twelve 

 feet high, with a truni often as thick as the arm. It feems 

 akin to the laft, but more to S. patens, n. 16, of which 

 Desfontaines fufpeCted it might be a variety. 'YheW foliage 

 indeed appears much the fame, but the powers of the pre- 

 fent are more aggregate. The legume however leems to aft^ord 

 the moft certain fpecific difference, being twice as long as 

 that of the patens, and covered with deprefled filky hairs, 

 not long and fliaggy ones. Nothing is mentioned of the 

 pubefcence of the calyx, nor have we feen a fpeciinen : but 

 its teeth are reprefented like thofe of patens, much more 

 confpicuous than in fcoparium. 



22. S. radiatum. Starry Broom. Linn. Sp. PI. 996. 

 Willd. n. 21. Ait. n. 14. (S. ramis oppofitis angulatis, fo- 

 liis oppofitis fubulatis ; Mill. Ic. v. 2. 173. t. 259. S. mi- 

 nimum montanum triphyllum ; Column. Ecphr. 295. t. 294. 

 f. 2. Genifta radiata, five ftellaris ; Bauh. Hill. v. i. p. 2. 

 399.) — Leaves ternate, oppofite, linear; with Ihort, dilated, 

 permanent footftalks. Brancht-s oppofite or aggregate, 

 angular. Clufters capitate, terminal. Legume ovate, 

 hairy. — Native of Italy and Carniola. Hardy with us, in 

 mild winters at lead. Flowering in June and July. The 

 great abundance of naked radiating branches, crowned with 

 tufts of handfome ycWov/ Jlowers, readily diftinguifli this 

 fpecies. The broad, fliort, permanent, concave footjlalks, 

 hardening into fpinous-tipped fcalcs, under the branches, are 

 very remarkable. The linear filky leaves, being oppofite 

 and ternate, look as if whorled. The cdlyx is tubular, filky 

 as well as the keel. Legume ftiort, broadly ovate, pointed, 

 covered with long filky hairs, and containing feveral fmall 



feeds. 



23. S.ferox. Sharp-thorned Broom. Desfont. Atlant. 

 v. 2. 136. t. 182. Willd. n. 22. Ait. n. 15. (Cytifus 

 foliis oblongis feffilibus glabris, filiquis comprcflis iiicanis ; 

 Shaw Phyt. Afric. n. 194.) — Leaves partly ternate, elliptic- 

 oblong, pointed. Branches ftriated, with Ipinous points. 

 Chillers terminal. Legume linear, hoary. — Native of Bar- 

 bary. The Jem is tliree or four feet high, with numerous 

 Uraight leafy branches, wliich, after bearing each a terminal 



fflie. 



