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Coronilla valentina
Also called Mediterranean Crown Vetch, Shrubby Scorpion Vetch
Coronilla valentina is an evergreen shrub from the Mediterranean, growing about 80 cm tall and wide, with pea-like leaves and fragrant yellow flowers in spring and summer. It does best in warm, sunny, sheltered spots with Mediterranean-style conditions.
Coronilla valentina, the shrubby scorpion-vetch,smokebush, scorpion vetch or bastard senna, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Coronilla of the legume family Fabaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin, and introduced into Kenya and the United States. It is an evergreen shrub growing to 80 cm (31 in) tall and wide, with pea-like foliage and fragrant, brilliant yellow flowers in spring and summer, followed by slender pods. Linnaeus observed that the flowers, remarkably fragrant in the daytime, are almost scentless at night.
In cultivation it is fairly hardy, but prefers Mediterranean conditions, with shelter and warm sunshine. The subspecies C. valentina subsp. glauca (syn. C. glauca) and its cultivar 'Citrina' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2017).
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Coronilla valentina 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.
