Cytisus multiflorus

Spanish or portuguese broom, Portuguese Broom

Family: Fabaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Spanish or portuguese broom is a naturalized shrub found in southern California's Los Angeles County, commonly occurring in disturbed roadsides at approximately 600 meters elevation. Flowering from March to April, this plant produces white flowers with dark-lined banners, clustered in small axillary groups. Growing 3 to 4 meters tall with many five-angled, flexible branches that are initially silvery-silky hairy and become nearly hairless with age, it has a distinctive broom-like appearance. Its lower branches feature three-part leaflets less than 10 millimeters long that are lance-linear or oblong and covered in silvery-silky hairs, while upper branches are often nearly leafless. The plant produces linear-oblong fruits 2.5 to 3 centimeters long that are covered in appressed hairs.

Habitat: Uncommon. Disturbed roadsides

Bloom period: Mar-Apr

Elevation: +- 600 m.

Bioregions: SCo (Los Angeles Co.)

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.