Cytisus multiflorus
Cytisus multiflorus is a species of legume known by the common names white broom, white spanishbroom and Portuguese broom.
Distribution
It is native to the Iberian Peninsula, especially frequent in the western half in central and northern interior Portugal and central and northern western Spain. It is better known as an introduced species on other continents, including Australia and North America, where it has become a weed in agricultural land and an invasive species in natural habitats.Description
Cytisus multiflorus is a shrub growing up to or in sprawling height, with a broomlike array of many five-angled flexible branches. Leaves appear mainly on lower branches, each made up of three leaflets. Some leaves grow on the upper branches; these are generally made up of a single leaflet. Each leaflet is under a centimeter long and may be linear to oblong in shape and coated in soft silvery hairs.The white, pea-like flower is up to a centimeter long and is often marked with a dark pinkish streak near the base. The fruit is a hairy legume pod up to long. The pods turn black with age and dehisce explosively to release their four to six seeds away from the parent plant.