Ulex parviflorus Pourr.
U. africanus Webb
Eng.: Mediterranean gorse. Spa.: Tojo. Fre.: Ajonc. Ara.: Chebroq.
Subshrub or shrub, up to 1.5(2) m in height, very spiny, hermaphrodite, very ramose, sometimes intricate and ± hemispherical (when growing on dry terrains, when beaten by wind, or when grazed). Stem and older branches with brownish bark, fissured longitudinally. Young branches deep green, striated, glabrous or glabrescent, at first with some hairs, then glabrous. Spines solitary, axillary, rigid, sharp, at first with some hairs and finally glabrous. Primary spines up to 3 cm, straight or slightly arched, alternate; secondary spines smaller (up to 1 cm), sometimes absent in floral stems. Phyllodes 1-5 mm, acicular, spinescent, from which axil the secondary branchlets are born. Flowers solitary or in racemiform groups of 2-3, on the lateral spiniform branchlets, with short pubescent pedicel (2-3 mm). Calyx 7-10 mm, bilabiate, reddish-brown, villous-silky, with short very applied hairs, lips divided almost up to the base, subequal; the upper lip bidentate at the apex; the lower lip tridentate. Upper lip 2-3 mm wide, subrounded; lower lip attenuated, usually with a clearly visible constriction close to the base. Corolla 10-13 mm, papilionoid, yellow; standard glabrous; wings glabrous or with some cilia along the anterior margin, shorter than the standard and the keel; keel ± silky on the dorsal side, slightly shorter than the standard. Pod 11-15 × 5-6 mm, oblong-ovoid, compressed, dehiscent, ± villous, as long as the calyx and corolla that are marcescent, green at first and then greyish-blackish. Seeds 2-4, 2.5-3.4 × 1.6-2.2 mm, ± ovoid, slightly compressed, brown-greenish, smooth and shiny.
Flowering:
Mainly from January to May.
Fruiting:
April to August.
Habitat:
Cleared forests and thickets, on all types of terrains, from sea level up to 1,200 m. In semiarid to subhumid bioclimate, on thermomediterranean to supramediterranean floors.
Distribution:
The species is distributed throughout the whole of the western Mediterranean region. The subspecies cited above are North African.
Observations:
There are 2 distinct subspecies in North Africa, while the type subspecies is European (Spain and southern France). U. parviflorus subsp. africanus (Webb) Greuter is green-yellowish generally, endemic to northern Morocco (Rif, Beni-Snassen mountains) and NW Algeria (littoral and sublittoral mountains W of Algiers, Oran and Tlemcen mountains). U. parviflorus subsp. funkii (Webb) Guinea (U. parviflorus subsp. rivasgodayanus Cubas) with stems, branches and spines covered in abundant long hairs, curved, ± patent, which give the plant a whitish appearance. It is endemic to the Betic-Rif area, forming part of the typical thickets of dolomitic calcarenites. It is found on the thermomediterranean floor and somewhat on the mesomediterranean floor, between 300-1,200 m in altitude. It is also found on the western Rif, Talassemtane National Park and around Targuist.
Conservation status:
A relatively common and widely distributed species, not considered threatened. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.