Dwarf Furze
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| Ulex gallii Planch. |
Dwarf Furze (Ulex gallii), also known as Western Gorse, is an evergreen shrub in the family Fabaceae, native to southern Scotland England, Wales, Ireland, France and north-western Spain. It is more common in the west and favours acid heathy soils and is frequently found in exposed maritime and montane environments.
It grows up to 90 cm tall although it is often much shorter than this, especially in exposed locations. The young stems are green, with the leaves modified into green spines, 1–3 cm long.
The flowers are yellow, 1–2 cm long, with the typical pea-flower structure; they are produced principally in the late summer and autumn, rarely before July. The fruit is a legume (pod), partly enclosed by the pale brown remnants of the flower.
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.
