Genista sagittalis L.

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Genista sagittalis' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/genista/genista-sagittalis/). Accessed 2024-03-29.

Genus

Synonyms

  • Chamaespartium sagittale (L.) P. Gibbs
  • Genistella sagittalis (L.) Gams

A prostrate shrub under 1 ft in height, and evergreen from the character of its green, foliaceous, winged branches. Stems with a slender, woody core, but edged on each side with a membranous wing, sometimes continuous up the stem, sometimes interrupted at the joints, the stem thus becoming flat and nearly 14 in. wide. Leaves few and scattered, oval or ovate, 12 to 34 in. long, hairy. Racemes erect, terminal, cylindrical, 1 to 112 in. long, hairy. Flowers closely packed, each 12 in. long, yellow, the petals expanding but little; calyx hairy. Pods 34 in. long, silky, four- to six-seeded. Blossoms in June. Bot. Mag., n.s., t. 332.

Native of central and S.E. Europe, frequently inhabiting upland pastures. It is very hardy, and thrives well in gardens, where it attracts notice for its pretty flowers and unusual stems. It may be used as an edging for borders, or grown in patches in the front of shrubberies.

From the Supplement (Vol. V)

This species is variable in habit in the wild, though usually prostrate as seen in cultivation.