122 
25. LEGUiiixos^:. 
australis Clem. ( U. provincialis Lois.). The “ Carqueja” of Por- 
tugal is the curious wing-stemmed Genista tridentata L. 
f3. Sarothamnus Wimm. 
+1. S. SCOPARIUS (L.). Common Broom. Giesta. 
Branches crowded fasciculate long gr. slender flexible strongly- 
grooved and ribbed or angular ; 1. inconspicuous dark full gr. ; 
lfts. small, the lower stalked ternate, upper simple sessile ; fl. 
large 1 or 2 together at each axil towards the ends of the 
branches, forming long loose upright or slightly drooping leafy 
rac., distinctly stalked ; pedic. rather long with 2 or 3 sessile 
simple lfts. at their base ; keel strongly curved ; style loosely 
circinate thickened or dilated below the tip, pubescent below 
the middle ; pods loosely hairy at the edges. — S. scoparius Koch 
ed. 1. 155 ; Seub. Fl. Az. 48. no. 365 ; Bab. 73. S. vulgaris 
Wimm., Koch ed. 2. 166. Spartium scoparium L. ; EB. t. 1339 ; 
Sm. E. Fl. iii. 261, 262 ; Bueh ! 197. no. 384. Genista scoparia 
Lam. ; Hook. Fl. Scot. i. 211 ; Spr. iii. 221 ; Holl's List in 
J. of Bot. i. 20. Cytisus scoparius Link ; DC. ii. 154. — Shr. per. 
Mad. reg. 2, 3, ccc ; PS. r ; GD. ±. Mountains above 1000 ft. 
in Mad. everywhere forming extensive thickets sometimes 
higher than the head of a man on horseback, either alone or 
mixed with Vaccinium, Laurels, &c. In PS. about the half- 
built church of N. S. de Gra 9 a; in GD. at the head of the 
central valley. March- July. — A dark gr. apparently leafless 
shr. usually from 6 to 10 ft. high with long slender somewhat 
drooping strongly angular flexible tough smooth gr. branches 
and small inconspicuous 1., the lower ternate, uppermost simple ; 
lfts. obovate or lanceolate dark gr. pubescent. Fl. large and 
handsome golden-y. axillary at the sides of the branches below 
their ends, solitary or in pairs on stalks in. long ; pet. dif- 
fuse with stam. and style exserted ; the standard distinctly 
notched. Pods flat blackish-brown clothed with long loose 
hairs at the edges ; bursting elastically with a crackling report 
in hot sunshine, the valves twisting spirally. Seeds dark olive 
shining. The whole pi. turns dark brown or black in drying. 
Sown extensively in the mountains for the purpose of being 
either cut down for firing, or burnt on the spot, every 5-7 years, 
to fertilize the ground, and cause it to produce a single crop of 
com or potatoes. The twigs and more slender branches are also 
used commonly as withs for binding bundles of faggots, brush- 
wood, fern, &c. ; and numbers of the country-people, espe- 
cially young girls and children, within reach of Funchal, gain a 
scanty and hard-earned livelihood by bringing daily into town, 
