The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Ulex europaeus
Also called Gorse, European Gorse, Furze, Whin
Common gorse is an evergreen, spiny shrub from western Europe and North Africa, grown for hedging and ground cover in open, sunny sites. It is tough and fast-growing, but it is a serious invasive weed in many regions and burns easily.
Ulex europaeus, commonly known as gorse, common gorse, furze or whin, is a species of flowering plant native to Western Europe.
This plant is used for hedging, boundary definition and groundcover in suitably sunny, open locations. Cultivars include 'Strictus' (Irish gorse), a dwarf form, and the double-flowered, non-fruiting 'Flore Pleno', which has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Bruised gorse was used in some areas for feeding to horses and other livestock. The fragrant petals have a number of culinary uses.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ulex europaeus 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.
