Family |
Fabaceae
Spartium junceum
L.
Spartium junceum L.
First published in Species Plantarum: 708 (1753)
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. LXXXIX nº 1; 1969)
• Life-form & habit: Woody shrub 1–4 m tall, with a stout trunk and numerous rush-like, green, leafless or nearly leafless branches.
• Leaves: Reduced, alternate or subopposite, simple, linear, glabrous, present mainly on young shoots and quickly deciduous.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Large, fragrant, bright yellow flowers exceeding 2 cm, arranged in terminal racemes. Calyx membranous, oblique, with a single lip bearing five short teeth. Standard ample, orbicular, sometimes slightly reflexed; wings short; keel of two almost free petals, nearly as long as the standard.
• Fruit: Pod linear, compressed, 5–7 cm × 5 mm, containing several seeds.
• Phenology: Flowers from April to June.
• Habitat & elevation: Degraded woodlands, rocky slopes, and open Mediterranean scrub; from sea level to montane regions.
• Lebanese distribution: Recorded by Mouterde from ʿAqoura, Antélias, Ras Chekka, Tripoli, ʿAley, Broummana, Mansouriyé, Rayfoun, Barouk, Bikfaya, Bzoummar, Douma, Falougha, Ehden, Denniyé, Qannoubine, Dimane, Bân, the forest of Ehden, Qaʿa er-Rine, Bhamra, Kessab, and Masʿadi.
• Native range: Albania, Azores, Baleares, Corse, East Aegean Is., France, Greece, Italy, Kriti, Lebanon–Syria, NW. Balkan Peninsula, Palestine, Portugal, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe.
• Introduced into: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina (Northeast), Baltic States, Belgium, Bolivia, Bulgaria, California, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, Chile (North and South), Colombia, East Himalaya, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala, Hawaii, India, Iraq, Japan, Java, Kenya, Krym, Libya, Madeira, Mexico (Central and Northeast), Morocco, New South Wales, New Zealand (North and South), North Caucasus, Northern Provinces, Oregon, Pakistan, Peru, Queensland, Romania, South Australia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Tasmania, Texas, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uruguay, Victoria, Washington, West Himalaya (POWO).
• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: A characteristic Mediterranean shrub easily identified by its rush-like green shoots and large yellow flowers; the only representative of its genus in the Levant, it is sometimes confused with Cytisus species but lacks leaves at flowering and has a distinct membranous, oblique-lipped calyx