Her story is part of the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, the tale of Math son of Mathonwy.īroom was considered a sign of plenty when it bore many flowers. In Welsh mythology, Blodeuwedd is the name of a woman made from the flowers of broom, meadowsweet ( Filipendula ulmaria) and the oak by Math fab Mathonwy and Gwydion to be the wife of Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Oxysparteine, produced from the action of acid on the sparteine, is useful as a cardiac stimulant and has the advantage over digoxin that it does not accumulate in the body. An ointment can be made from the flowers to treat gout. A decoction or infusion of broom can be used to treat dropsy due to its diuretic action. The plant also is used as a cathartic and as a cardiac stimulant, which is credited to the presence of sparteine. Medicinal usesīroom contains scoparin, which is a diuretic. The characteristic constituents are biogenic amines (mostly tyramine in the young shoots), flavonoids (spiraeoside and scoparoside), isoflavones and their glycosides (genistin), as well as allelopathic quinolizidine alkaloids (mostly sparteine, lupanine, scoparin and hydroxy-derivatives), which defend the plant against insect infestation and herbivory (with the exception of the resistant Aphis cytisorum). One of main alkaloids of this plant is cytisine. Often new plants will grow from roots or seed, requiring repeated treatments. A spring fire followed by drought conditions will reduce seedling survival. Low temperature fires, such as a grass fire, will increase seed germination and new sprouts may form on the burned stumps of mature broom. In cooler, wetter areas pulling is the preferred method, and hand-operated broom pullers are available. Drought areas respond well to cutting while the seed pods are young and still green.

There are several methods, cutting, pulling, burning, herbicide or introducing chickens and goats. From late fall, through winter, to mid spring are preferred times to eradicate mature plants. Care should be taken to avoid disturbing the ground or the seeding plants between late spring and mid fall. The method used to remove broom is dependent on the prolific seed cycle. They include the broom twig miner ( Leucoptera spartifoliella), the broom seed beetle ( Bruchidius villosus), the broom gall mite ( Aceria genistae), the sap-sucking broom psyllid ( Arytainilla spartiophila), the Scotch broom seed weevil ( Exapion fuscirostre) and recently the broom leaf beetle ( Gonioctena olivacea) and the broom shoot moth ( Agonopterix assimilella). In New Zealand, broom is estimated to cost the forestry industry NZ$90 million, and to cost farmers NZ$10 million.īiological control for broom has been investigated since the mid-1980s with a number of species being tested. It is estimated that it is responsible for US$47 million in lost timber production each year in Oregon. The prolific growth of this species after timber harvest inhibits reforestation by competing with seedling trees. These shrubs commonly grow in disturbed areas and along utility and transportation rights-of-way. C. scoparius contains toxic alkaloids that depress the heart and nervous system.īroom is an invasive species in North America.Ĭytisus scoparius has been introduced into several other continents outside its native range and is classified as a noxious invasive species in California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and parts of the east coast of North America, as well as Australia, New Zealand and India. Especially the seeds, seedlings, and young shoots are sensitive to frost, but adult plants are hardier, and branches affected by freezing temperatures regenerate quickly. This species is adapted to Mediterranean and coastal climates, and its range is limited by cold winter temperatures. In late summer, its legumes (seed pods) mature black, 2–3 cm long, 8 mm broad and 2–3 mm thick they burst open, often with an audible crack, forcibly throwing seed from the parent plant.

The seed pods have long hairs only along their seams. Flowering occurs after 50–80 growing degree days. The shrubs have green shoots with small deciduous trifoliate leaves 5–15 mm long, and in spring and summer are covered in profuse golden yellow flowers 20–30 mm from top to bottom and 15–20 mm wide. scoparius typically grow to 1–3 m (3.3–9.8 ft) tall, rarely to 4 m (13 ft), with main stems up to 5 cm (2.0 in) thick, rarely 10 cm (3.9 in).

scoparius from Köhler's Medicinal Plants (1887)

French broom range us