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Pea Family [Fabaceae] |
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8th July 2017, park garden, Waterloo, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
Grows by erect stems to 3m high. Likes a sandy soil by roadsides or rough ground. scattered mostly around London, but elsewhere occurs in a few isolated hectads mainly on the west half of England. |
8th July 2017, park garden, Waterloo, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
The stems are thin, rigid, mainly straight with just a gentle overall curve on them and sparsely branched. The flowering spike, a raceme, occupies the top. |
8th July 2017, park garden, Waterloo, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
The flower spike might have about 20(?) potential flowers, here in bud stage. |
8th July 2017, park garden, Waterloo, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
The stems are mostly featureless, with very faint ridges and tiny white pin-pricks (possibly very short hairs). Flowers on a short stalk encased in fused sepal which has no gaps between it and the flower it holds; the flowers nearer the bottom escaping first. |
8th July 2017, park garden, Waterloo, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
Flowers large, mainly a deep yellow (deeper yellow than Broom); typically fabaceae shaped with a large banner, two wings and a keel. |
8th July 2017, park garden, Waterloo, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
Flowers 1-2cm across. |
8th July 2017, park garden, Waterloo, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
8th July 2017, park garden, Waterloo, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
8th July 2017, park garden, Waterloo, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
8th July 2017, park garden, Waterloo, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
But whereas the keel on many other Fabaceae plants usually comprises two clasping halves and are mostly hidden between the two wings, those on Spanish Broom are canoe-shaped (fused at the bottom but open at the top) and extend way-beyond the two wings held apart either side. |
8th July 2017, park garden, Waterloo, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
The canoe-shaped keel protrudes beyond the two wings. |
8th July 2017, park garden, Waterloo, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
The single pale-green style and 10(?) concolorous yellow filaments both curl up from the open canoe-shaped keel. |
8th July 2017, park garden, Waterloo, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
On this specimen the keel is splitting at the bottom, no longer joined, which will, of course, sink the canoe :-) |
8th July 2017, park garden, Waterloo, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
Eventually the petals wither off and the ovary grows into a long, thin straight-edged pod. All pods are directed upwards on stiff stalks, rather than hang down as they do on many other fabaceae plants. The pods eventually grow to 8-10cm long and blacken when ripe, bursting open with a crack to scatter the seeds. |
8th July 2017, park garden, Waterloo, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
The developing peas/seeds can be discerned in the top half of the pod. There might eventually be 18-22 (?) in each pod. Some pods have already fallen off (the pale-brown stumps on the stem). |
8th July 2017, park garden, Waterloo, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
Seed pods hairier at the top. |
8th July 2017, park garden, Waterloo, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
Long white hairs at top of pods. Curved long style still attached. |
8th July 2017, park garden, Waterloo, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
The stems are sometimes well-branched, coming off the main stem at an angle of about 60°. All are rigid and straight forming a very architectural space. They are glaucous green with tiny white hairs, which might rub off those parts higher up the plant when buffeted by high winds. |
8th July 2017, park garden, Waterloo, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
The only leaves on the plant are always much nearer the ground; never trefoil as are many other Fabaceae. Most of the photosynthesis occurs within the stiff stems of the plant, with the leaves contributing little. The few leaves on it eventually fall off in late spring which explains why your Author could only find one or two leaves on the larger plants. The stems of Spanish Broom have a wide pith within (unfortunately your Author did not know this when he was taking all these photos). With photosynthesis occurring mostly in the stems the plant is able to conserve water in hot climates, which probably also explains the pith within the stems to hold the water. |
8th July 2017, park garden, Waterloo, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
The leaves are short (1-3cm), narrow (4mm), linear or oblanceolate. Sometimes in opposite pairs, mainly by chance rather than design. |
Some similarities to : Broom (Cytisus scoparius) but that belongs in a differing genus (still within the same Fabaceae family). Broom has slightly paler-yellow flowers, trefoil leaves, and stems (which although as straight as Broom) have 5 deep grooves a bit like those of Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) but are not as deep.
Not to be semantically confused with : Uniquely identifiable characteristics Distinguishing Feature : see captions above.
No relation to : Not to be confused with or mistaken for: Spanish Gorse (Genista hispanica) but that has (sharp) spines whereas Spanish Broom is spineless.
Nor to be confused with Broom (Cytisus scoparius):
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Spartium | junceum | ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ | Fabaceae |
Spartium (Spanish Broom) |
Pea Family [Fabaceae] |