LOOK at all those FLOWERS!

Because it is so colourful this European plant has spread around the world. First as a showy garden plant, and then as a weed that can dominate any suitable habitat for decades. The story goes this plant brought to Fort Victoria in 1850s and the presumably spread north from there.

Now it is considered an invasive weed, which is usurping native habitat or even preventing re-forestation.

(See the Pacific Forestry Center Research page by Raj Prasad, but similar ones are available from California to Washington.)

Scotch Broom or Cytisus scoparius belongs to the Legumes as is quickly evident by its flower and seed pod.

(Go to LEGUME WEB databases site for technical article and links)

Or for family resemblances see the University Wisconsin plant images site where Fabaceae overview of the 440+ genera given in only mildly technical terms

Hey Look at this

This flower actually mugs the bees that come to gather pollen/ fertilize it.

Right is a frame from short video showing me artificially triggering the mechanism which whacks out the pollen and receptive stigma from inside the keel.

The seeds explode too.

There are several accounts here is best written, which includes herbal and folklore items.

A recent scientific paper looks a bee size and forage behaviour on this flower.

RealMedia video 18K

AVI format 188K

Tough beauty

Scotch Broom lives up to its name by having ‘Nectar Guides’ but faking it. Presumably there is enough pollen that the bees keep returning.

Lots of seeds that can persist in the soil up to 60 years plus the ability to combine with a bacteria in the roots that can provide the host with Nitrogen makes this plant happy anywhere it can survive the winters.

Still it needs that bright sunshine and that is why shade will kill it.