Yellow broom plant and flower

Broom is the name of a group of attractive shrubs.Yellow broom flower is the most common, however more than 100 species grow in Europe, Asia, and Africa.It was intentionally introduced to B.C. in 1850 by Captain Walter Grant who planted broom at his farm on Vancouver Island. Regrettably, few realized the evasiveness of this perennial as it quickly spread up the east coast of Vancouver Island before invading the Gulf Islands and mainland.  Some types of broom plants are used to make dyes. The Scotch broom, a native of Europe, is grown in the United States. Many of its green branches are leafless or almost without leaves. The showy, yellow flowers are shaped like butterflies. The fruit is a pod with one or more seeds in it. The English royal house of Plantagenet received its name from the Latin term Planta genista, which means sprig of the broom plant See also Legume.

Cytisus scoparius is a deciduous, perennial shrub that grows up to 3m tall. It begins to reproduce when it is approximately three years old and usually lives from 10-15 years. After flowering, it forms black seed pods, carrying an average of 5-9 seeds that disperse after the pods audibly 'pop' open! Scotch broom is known as a 'prolific seed producer' with up to 18,000 seeds per plant which spread by wind, small animals, water and humans. These seeds are protected with a seed coat that can delay germinating for over 30 years. As mentioned, it has yellow flowers (sometimes white or red) that attract large bees to deliver its pollen. Scotch broom is adapted to tolerate drought conditions with its deep taproot, reduced leaf area, photosynthetically active stems, and a thick wax coating to prevent water loss. It prefers open sites because it is generally shade intolerant, thriving in dry to very dry soils. This plant also tends to acidify surrounding soil, preventing other species from establishing.