Genista scorpius (L.) DC.
Spartium scorpius L.
Spa.: Aliaga, genista. Fre.: Genêt épineux. Ara.: Guendul, achfund.
Shrub or subshrub up to 1(1.5) m in height, strongly spiny, hermaphrodite, highly branched and sometimes intricate, with erect stems, only slightly foliose. Stems and old branches with brown bark, fissured longitudinally, turning glabrous. Young branchlets glaucous, striated longitudinally, with 8-10 semicylindrical ribs, somewhat hairy at first. Spines divaricate, usually simple, rarely tricuspid. Leaves alternate, unifoliolate, stipulate —stipular organ with 2 spines up to 2 mm—, subsessile, with leaf blade 1.5-9 × 1-3.5 mm; leaves of the macroblasts linear-lanceolate, with a spinescent apex, and on the brachyblasts obovate, retuse and muticous; all attenuated at the base, green and glabrescent on both sides. Inflorescences racemiform, pauciflorous, born on stipular organs or on short stems of the previous year, with (1)2-3 pedicellate flowers, with pedicel up to 4.5 mm, glabrescent. Calyx 3-6 mm, glabrescent —ciliate margin—, split into 2 lips usually subequal and smaller than the tube, the upper lip bipartite into 2 triangular segments, and the lower lip trifid or tridentate. Corolla 9-12 mm, papilionoid, yellow, with standard obovate, emarginate, glabrous, subequal or somewhat longer than the wings and the keel. Androecium monadelphous, with 10 stamens. Ovary glabrous, stigma elliptical and introrse. Pod (10)15-35 × 3.5-4.5 mm, linear-oblong, compressed, green at first turning brown-blackish, glabrous, with 1-7 seeds. Seeds 2-3 mm, ovoid-subglobose, smooth, brownish or greenish-brown, with no aril.
Flowering:
February to June.
Fruiting:
May to August.
Habitat:
Forests, thickets, rocky outcrops and steppes on all types of terrain, with semiarid to subhumid bioclimate, on thermomediterranean and mesomediterranean floors.
Distribution:
Southern France, Iberian Peninsula and Morocco.
Observations:
The type subspecies, G. scorpius (L.) DC. subsp. scorpius, has floral pedicels 2-5 mm long and hairy young branchlets. It is abundant in southern France and much of the Iberian Peninsula. Its presence in North Africa seems to be reduced to the northern region of Morocco, on chalky soils next to the sea, at Cape Nazari (Tetuan). Whilst G. scorpius subsp. myriantha (Ball.) Maire (G. myriantha Ball.) are plants with floral pedicels up to 2 mm and young branchlets glabrous or hairy, more extended, distributed through mountains in the eastern Middle Atlas, High Atlas, Anti-Atlas and surrounding areas, reaching from the S up to Jebel Bani. Plants with intermediate characteristics between the two taxa, growing in the Middle Atlas and Plateau Chorfa are identified as G. scorpius subsp. intermedia Emb. & Maire. The last two are endemic to Morocco.
Another similar species but spreading in habit, barely reaching 30 cm from the ground, is G. carpetana Lange, represented in the territory only by one of the recognised subspecies: G. carpetana subsp. nociva (Pau & Font Quer) C.Vicioso & M.Laínz (G. nociva Pau & Font Quer) endemic to Morocco; it grows in humid siliceous meadows in cedar forests of the Issaguen plateau (central Rif). The type subspecies (subsp. carpetana) grows in NW and central Spain.
Conservation status:
G. scorpius is a relatively common and widespread species, not considered threatened. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Whereas G. carpetana subsp nociva is a rare endemic species with few individuals and a very restricted distribution area. It has not been assessed yet; however, it would possibly be listed at a category of threat.