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California Broom

Acmispon glaber

Also called Narrow Leaf Bird's Foot Trefoil, Common Deerweed, Deer Clover, Deerweed, Wild Broom

California Broom
Photo: NPS, Public domain

Acmispon glaber is a small, branching perennial subshrub native to dry parts of California, Arizona and Mexico, often a first colonizer after fire. It is grown mainly for wildlife and native plantings and needs sun and very little water once established.

Family
Fabaceae (Pea & bean family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun
Water
Water sparingly and let the soil dry out between waterings; it tolerates drought once established.
Soil
Well-drained, sandy or gravelly soil; poor soil is fine.
Temperature
Hardy in mild temperate climates; protect from hard frost.
How easy
Easy
Native range
California to Arizona and Mexico (Baja California)
Climate
temperate

About

Acmispon glaber (previously Lotus scoparius) (common deerweed, deer weed, deervetch, California broom or western bird's-foot trefoil) is a perennial subshrub in the family Fabaceae (pea family). The plant is a pioneer species found in dry areas of California, Arizona, and Mexico. It is commonly found in many areas including chaparral, coastal sand and roadsides at elevations below 1500 m.

Where it grows

Acmispon glaber is a food consumed by numerous wildlife, providing intake for hummingbirds, bees, butterfly larvae, and deer. Among the larvae are the Acmon blue, Afranius duskywing, Avalon scrub hairstreak, bramble hairstreak, funereal duskywing, northern cloudywing, and at one point in time the extinct Xerces blue. Common plant associates in chaparral, especially in the transition between coastal chaparral and coastal sage scrub, include California sagebrush and toyon.

Other Acmispon plants

Acmispon distichus

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Acmispon glaber by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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