Genista sericea
Credits
Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles
Recommended citation
'Genista sericea' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Genus
Other taxa in genus
- Genista aetnensis
- Genista anglica
- Genista cinerea
- Genista delphinensis
- Genista ephedroides
- Genista falcata
- Genista florida
- Genista germanica
- Genista hispanica
- Genista horrida
- Genista januensis
- Genista lobelii
- Genista lydia
- Genista monosperma
- Genista nyssana
- Genista pilosa
- Genista 'Porlock'
- Genista radiata
- Genista sagittalis
- Genista scorpius
- Genista sphaerocarpa
- Genista sylvestris
- Genista tenera
- Genista tinctoria
- Genista villarsii
A deciduous shrub of low, tufted growth, usually under 1 ft in height, and consisting of a cluster of short, erect growths; young shoots finely silky-hairy. Leaves simple, linear to narrowly oblong, tapered towards both ends, mostly 1⁄3 to 3⁄4 in. long, about 1⁄8 in. wide, glabrous above, clothed beneath with silky-hairs. Flowers yellow, about 1⁄2 in. long, borne in terminal clusters of three to five, opening in late May or June; they are of the typical broom-flower shape. Petals, calyx, and seed-pod silky-hairy; pods about 3⁄4 in. long.
Native of Dalmatia, Istria, Tyrol, etc., found in calcareous soil often on stony mountainous sites. It is common on Monte Spaccato, near Trieste. Though known to botanists since the 18th century, it has been little cultivated and I had not seen it alive until 1925, when it was obtained for Kew from Trieste. It is essentially a plant for a sunny ledge in the rock garden, a spot for which its low, tufted, compact habit fits it admirably.