Spartium junceum

Spanish broom, Spanish Broom

Family: Fabaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Spanish broom is a naturalized shrub found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, California Ranges, Sierra Nevada Foothills, Sacramento Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, southern Coast Ranges, southern California, southern Channel Islands, and Transverse Ranges in disturbed areas at elevations below 900 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces bright yellow, fragrant flowers 2 to 3 centimeters long in open terminal racemes. Growing with erect, rush-like green branches less than 3 meters tall that are nearly leafless, it has a distinctive upright form. Its simple leaves are small, less than 2.5 centimeters long, linear to lanceolate, and appear ephemeral with appressed hairs on the underside. The fruit is a dehiscent pod 5 to 10 centimeters long and approximately 5 millimeters wide.

Habitat: Common. Disturbed areas

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: < 900 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoRO, CaRF, SNF, ScV, SnFrB, SCoRO, SCo, s ChI, WTR

California counties: Los Angeles, Calaveras, Ventura, San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside, Alameda, Shasta, Tulare, Butte, San Diego, Kern, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Amador, Sonoma, Placer, Marin, Tuolumne, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Humboldt, Solano, Contra Costa, Tehama, Napa, Fresno, Mendocino, San Mateo, Lake, Yolo, Monterey

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