Seasonal Wild Flowers

Gorse

Latin Name

Ulex europaeus

Family

Fabaceae

Other Names

Furze, Whin

Flowering Season

It flowers from December to June, but it is at its best from

March to June. It is usually possible to find some Gorse

flowering at any time of the year.

Two other species, Western Gorse and Dwarf Gorse,

flower from July to October and hybrids between Gorse

and Western Gorse flower from September through

to March.

English distribution

Gorse is the commonest of the 3 species and found

throughout the country.

See the BSBI distribution map for Gorse

Habitat

It is found in open land, waste ground, hedgerows,

by railways, roads and motorways, and on heaths,

sea-cliffs and sand dunes.

Its ubiquity is in part due to its ability to fix nitrogen,

which gives it a competitive advantage in nutrient

poor soils.

Description

Gorse is a native, spiny shrub, growing up to 3m.

It is striking because it is one of the few showy,

native shrubs which flowers in the winter months.

Flowers are up to 15mm and deep yellow.

The pods are also up to 15mm and burst in the

summer.

The branches are mainly upright.

Spines are up to 2cm and furrowed.

Historically, Gorse has had a number of uses, e.g.,

hedging, fuel, animal fodder and besoms.

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Gorse in May

Gorse in winter

Gorse flower

Grooved spines and grooved stem

Gorse - flowering frond

Ejected and unejected seed pods,

grooved spines