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Genista sericea Wulf.

Modern name

Genista sericea Wulfen

A deciduous shrub of low, tufted growth, usually under 1 ft in height, and consisting of a cluster of short, erect growths; young shoots finely silky-hairy. Leaves simple, linear to narrowly oblong, tapered towards both ends, mostly 13 to 34 in. long, about 18 in. wide, glabrous above, clothed beneath with silky-hairs. Flowers yellow, about 12 in. long, borne in terminal clusters of three to five, opening in late May or June; they are of the typical broom-flower shape. Petals, calyx, and seed-pod silky-hairy; pods about 34 in. long.

Native of Dalmatia, Istria, Tyrol, etc., found in calcareous soil often on stony mountainous sites. It is common on Monte Spaccato, near Trieste. Though known to botanists since the 18th century, it has been little cultivated and I had not seen it alive until 1925, when it was obtained for Kew from Trieste. It is essentially a plant for a sunny ledge in the rock garden, a spot for which its low, tufted, compact habit fits it admirably.


Genus

Genista

Other species in the genus