Ulex sp.
Gorse, furze, Furze
(c) Daniel Cahen, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Daniel Cahen · licence
Family: Fabaceae · Type: Shrub · Not Native
Ulex sp. (Gorse) is a non-native California shrub in the Fabaceae family.
How to tell it apart
vs Genista: Ulex has spines covering the entire plant; Genista has few or no spines and green photosynthetic stems.; vs Lupinus: Ulex forms impenetrable spiny shrubs; Lupinus has soft herbaceous stems without spines.; vs Isocoma: Ulex has yellow pea-shaped flowers; Isocoma has yellow composite flower heads with ray and disk flowers.; vs Alhagi: Ulex has yellow flowers and densely hairy pods; Alhagi has red-purple flowers and smooth beaded pods.; vs Psorothamnus: Ulex has densely hairy non-glandular pods; Psorothamnus has smooth gland-dotted pods.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ulex sp. native to California?
No. Ulex sp. is not native to California (recorded as not native).
What plant family does Ulex sp. belong to?
Ulex sp. is in the Fabaceae family, genus Ulex.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-04-14
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.