Cytisus scoparius is a perennial, leguminous shrub native to western and central Europe from the Iberian Peninsula north to the British Isles and southern Scandinavia, and east to Poland and Romania, where it is found in sunny sites, usually on dry, sandy soils at low altitudes.
It typically grows to 1 - 3 m tall, rarely 4 m, with main stems up to 5 cm thick, rarely 10 cm. It has green shoots with small deciduous trifoliate leaves 5 - 15 mm long, and in spring and summer is covered in profuse golden yellow flowers 20 - 30 mm from top to bottom and 15 - 20 mm wide. In late summer, its legumes (seed pods) mature black, 2 - 3 cm long, 8 mm broad and 2 - 3 mm thick; they burst open, often with an audible crack, spreading seed from the parent plant. It is the hardiest species of broom, tolerating temperatures down to about minus 25°C.
In Britain and Ireland the standard name is Broom, but this name is also used generically for other related species, and the term Common Broom is sometimes used for clarification.. In other English speaking countries, the most prevalent common name is Scotch Broom ; English Broom is also occasionally used
Cultivation
It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant, It has naturalized into several continents outside its native range, and is sometimes regarded as a noxious invasive species in California and the Pacific Northwest in North America, Australia and New Zealand. The prolific growth of this species after timber harvest inhibits reforestation by competing with seedling trees.
