Getting a Handle on Broom: Scotch, French, Spanish, and Portuguese Brooms in California

Abstract

Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius), French broom (Genista monspessulana), Spanish broom (Spartium junceum), and Portuguese, or striated, broom (Cytisus striatus) were introduced into California in the mid-1800s for landscape planting, mine tail-ings stabilization, and roadside erosion control. The abundant bright yellow flowers were used medicinally, and the stems were cut for broom-making materials. The traits that were once considered useful and desirable are the same attribut-es that define brooms as aggressive and invasive noxious weeds. These traits include their tolerance for most soil conditions, ability to fix nitrogen and grow for most of the year, and copious production of long-lived seed. These attractive attributes for erosion control make the plants difficult to manage where erosion control is not a goal.