Common Gorse
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 Common Gorse flowers
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| Ulex europaeus L. |
The Common Gorse (Ulex europaeus) is an evergreen shrub in the family Fabaceae, native to western Europe from Scotland south to Portugal and east to Belgium.
It grows to 1-2 m tall, rarely 3 m. The young stems are green, with the leaves modified into green spines, 1-3 cm long. Young seedlings produce normal leaves for the first few months; these are trifoliate, resembling a small clover leaf.
The flowers are yellow, 1-2 cm long, with the typical pea-flower structure; they are produced throughout the year, but mainly in the early spring. The fruit is a legume (pod) 2 cm long, dark purplish-brown, partly enclosed by the pale brown remnants of the flower; the pod contains 2-3 small blackish seeds, which are released when the pod splits open in hot weather.
Like all species of gorse, it is a fire-climax plant, which readily catches fire but re-grows from the roots after the fire; the seeds are also adapted to germinate after slight scorching by fire.
Common Gorse has been introduced to other areas of Europe, and also the Americas, New Zealand and Australia, where it is often considered a weed and is a serious problem invasive species in some areas (notably the western United States, Chile and New Zealand). It was introduced to New Zealand from Scotland as a type of hedge, but became a major blight to farmers as the climate suited its growth better than its native habitat.
