Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link: Scotch broom

Abstract

The genus Cytisus comprises about 80 species native to Eurasia and North Africa. Many are cultivated as ornamentals, and several of these have become more or less naturalized in the United States, especially in California (Munz and Keck 1959). Scotch broom - C. scoparius (L.) Link - was planted extensively for erosion control during the first half of the century (Gill and Pogge 1974) but is now considered a serious invasive weed throughout the range of its introduction in North America, Australia, and New Zealand (Bossard 1991). It has become the dominant species on several hundred thousand hectares of coastal and cis-montane vegetation, from Santa Barbara, California, north to British Columbia. It is a drought-deciduous shrub with angled, photosynthetic stems that is able to root-sprout following fire (Bossard and Rejmanek 1994; Gonzales-Andres and Ortiz 1997). It is largely useless as a browse-plant because of its toxic foliage, a feature that may permit it to increase at the expense of more palatable species (Bossard and Rejmanek 1994; Gill and Pogge 1974). It increases in response to disturbance of native vegetation and is also a serious weed problem in pine plantations in California and New Zealand.

Parent Publication

• The Woody Plant Seed Manual

Citation

Meyer, Susan E. 2008. Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link: Scotch broom. In: Bonner, Franklin T.; Karrfalt, Robert P., eds. The Woody Plant Seed Manual. Agric. Handbook No. 727. Washington, DC. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. p. 466-467.