Cytisus proliferus

Tree lucerne

Family: Fabaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Tree lucerne is a naturalized shrub found in coastal central California and San Francisco Bay regions in disturbed places at elevations below 100 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces white flowers with purple interior markings, featuring a banner 10 to 15 millimeters long. Growing to less than 5 meters tall with round, hairy twigs, it develops distinctive axillary flower clusters of 3 to 7 blooms. Its leaves are composed of lanceolate to ovate leaflets 10 to 30 millimeters long, with silky undersides and glabrous upper surfaces. The fruit is a black, silky-hairy pod reaching 3.5 to 5 centimeters in length.

Habitat: Uncommon. Disturbed places

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: < 100 m

Bioregions: CCo, SnFrB

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