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Cytisus × versicolor (Kirchn.) Dipp.

Modern name

Cytisus × versicolor Briq.

Synonyms

C. purpureus elongatus versicolor Kirchn.

A hybrid of which C. purpureus is one parent. The identity of the other parent is uncertain; it is now usually considered to be C. hirsutus, but C. elongatus has been suggested. It has inherited the characters and general aspect of C. purpureus, having glabrous stems and similar foliage, but is a sturdier, taller, and more rounded bush, 2 ft or more high. It differs from C. purpureus in having the flowers a distinct compromise between yellow and purple, and in having a quite hairy calyx. It has been known for about eighty years, and is a very desirable broom.

cv. ‘Hillieri’. – A hybrid between C. × versicolor and C. hirsutus var. hirsutissimus, raised by Messrs Hillier and put into commerce in 1933. It is a low shrub with arching branches and large yellow flowers flushed pale bronze, changing to buff-pink.


Genus

Cytisus

Other species in the genus