Family: Papilionaceae
Common Name: Broom

Endemic to the Canary Islands, North Africa, southern Europe and western Asia, brooms are grown mainly for their pretty, fragrant pea flowers, although in the past, several of the species were commonly used for making dyes. Deciduous or almost leafless, they are hardy shrubs, well suited to drier climates, and vary rather widely in habit. The smaller species make excellent rockery and pot plants.

Species

G. aetnensis, Mount Etna broom, zone 8, from Sicily and Sardinia, has a rounded, weeping habit. This shrub grows to 6-8 m (20-26 ft). It is almost leafless, with fragrant, yellow flowers in summer.

G. hispanica, Spanish gorse, zone 6, is a low-growing shrub, to 1 m (3 ft), useful for planting in rockeries or on dry, sunny embankments. The sparsely leaved branches are spiny and the golden yellow flowers are borne in dense clusters in spring.

G. tinctoria, dyer's greenweed or dyer's broom, zone 3, from southern Europe and western Asia, has been used since ancient times as a source of yellow dye and for medicinal pur­poses. It is a deciduous shrub, to 1 m (3 ft), with non-spiny branches, bright green leaves and sprays of yellow flowers in summer. Cultivar 'Royal Gold', is a compact shrub, to 1 m (3 ft), with gold-yellow flowers.

Cultivation

Brooms thrive in light soils in sunny spots in the garden. Most require light pruning to improve their shape and to encour­age good flowering. Do not prune into the old wood. Propagate from semi-ripe cuttings in summer, or from seed in spring.

Climate

There are species suited to various climatic zones.