What is Spanish broom?
{{Taxobox | name = Spanish broom | status = | image = Spartium junceum.jpg | image_width = 240px | regnum = [[Plant]]ae | divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]] | classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]] | ordo = [[Fabales]] | familia = [[Fabaceae]] | genus = '''''Spartium''''' | species = '''''S. junceum''''' | binomial = ''Spartium junceum'' | binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]] }} '''Spanish broom''' (''Spartium junceum'', [[synonymy|syn.]] ''Genista juncea''), also known as '''weaver's broom''', is a [[perennial]], leguminous [[shrub]] that grows in the [[Mediterranean]] region in southern [[Europe]], southwest [[Asia]] and northwest [[Africa]], where it is found in sunny sites, usually on dry, sandy soils. It is the sole species in the genus '''''Spartium''''', but is closely related to the other [[broom (shrub)|brooms]] in the genera ''Cytisus'' and ''Genista''. [[Image:Spartium junceum2.jpg|left|thumb|Close-up of flowers]] Spanish broom typically grows to 2-4 m tall, rarely 5 m, with main stems up to 5 cm thick, rarely 10 cm. ==References== *[http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?35189 Germplasm Resources Information Network: ''Spartium junceum''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924150355/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?35189 |date=2015-09-24 }} {{Commons|Spartium junceum}} [[Category:Faboideae|Broom, Spanish]]