Forsythia suspensa x F. viridissima (F. x intermedia)
Oleaceae
Golden ball, Golden bells
February to April
See the BSBI distribution map for Forsythia
Forsythia is found in gardens everywhere.
Forsythia is widely planted as an early-flowering,
ornamental shrub and hedging plant in gardens,
parks and public amenity areas.
Naturalised plants in the wild are derived from
rooting fragments, as the seeds are not viable in the
UK.
It is considered a relic of previous cultivation and is
found on brownfield sites, waste ground and rubbish
tips, in hedgerows and by roads, footpaths and water.
It is a neophyte with naturalised escapes known
only since the 1970s, but they appear to be increasing
due to the increased amount of garden rubbish
discarded in the countryside.
It is a deciduous shrub growing up to 5m.
The hanging, bell-shaped, lemon-yellow flowers
appear before the leaves.
The flowers have 4 petals forming a 4 lobed tube.
They can be monoecious or dioecious.
Nectaries are present and attract insects.
The fruit is a capsule but is rarely seen in the hybrids
grown in the UK.
The leaves ore oval.
Young stems are green to brownish red and older
wood is grey.
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Forsythia bush by the Lancaster canal
In rough grassland, West Dorset
In woodland, West Dorset
Flowers en masse
4 petals, small calyx
Individual flower
Close up of anthers
Close-up of nectaries at base of
staminal tube
Leaves and stems in summer
Leaves and twig
Old stem
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