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Spiny Broom

Calicotome spinosa

Spiny Broom
Photo: Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 4.0

Calicotome spinosa is a very spiny, densely branched shrub in the pea family that reaches up to about 3 m, native to the western Mediterranean. It thrives in full sun and dry, rocky soil, and needs little care once established.

Family
Fabaceae (Pea & bean family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Full sun
Water
Water sparingly, letting the soil dry out fully between waterings; it tolerates drought well once established.
Soil
Free-draining, poor to moderately fertile soil such as sandy or rocky mix.
Temperature
10-30 °C; tolerates mild winters but protect from hard frost below about -5 °C.
How easy
Easy
Native range
E. Spain, Baleares, Corse, Sardegna, SE. France, NW. Italy, N. Algeria
Climate
subtropical

About

Calicotome spinosa, the thorny broom or spiny broom, is a very spiny, densely branched shrub of the family Fabaceae which can reach up to three metres in height. It grows in the Western Mediterranean region on sunny slopes and dry, rocky ground. It is found in Spain, France, Italy, Croatia, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Turkey, and it has been introduced to New Zealand. From March to June it produces bright yellow flowers which are borne singly or in small clusters. The seed-pods are 30mm long and are almost hairless, unlike those of the similar species Calicotome villosa.

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Calicotome spinosa 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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