Scientific name: Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link
Common name: Broom
Description
Habit: A woody shrub, to 1-2 m high.
Stems: Erect, green, wiry branches.
Leaves: Few and small, usually with 3 oval leaflets, hairless or sparsely and softly hairy.
Flowers: Yellow, zygomorphic, 15-20 mm across, solitary or paired; calyx small and green, of 5 fused sepals, upper lip 2-toothed; petals 5, 2 free wings, 2 are fused to form a lower keel and 1 conceals the stamens and carpel; stamens 10, fused to form a tube; carpel 1, style 1.
Fruits: A legume pod, 2.5-5 cm, flat, hairy on the margins.
Habitat: Hedges, roadsides, heathy ground.
Distribution: Very local and rather rare, confined to acid soils.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No
The subspecies found in the region is Cytisus scoparius subsp. scoparius.