Portuguese broom

Cytisus striatus, the Portuguese or hairy-fruited broom, is an upright, bushy, much-branched shrub of the legume family (Fabaceae) reaching 1–3 m in height, with highly branched, sprawling habit. The green, photosynthetic stems are conspicuously marked with 8–10 longitudinal ridges, giving the species its specific epithet. Leaves are small and inconspicuous, composed of one to three leaflets up to 13 mm long, and may be deciduous or partly evergreen depending on climate. From spring into early summer it produces masses of fragrant, bright yellow, pea-like flowers borne singly or in pairs along the upper stems. The fruit is a flat green pod that matures to black, densely covered with white silky hairs, and dehisces explosively to scatter the seeds. Native to the western Iberian Peninsula and adjoining north-western Morocco, it has become naturalised and locally invasive in parts of western North America, the British Isles, and Australia.