Common gorse (Ulex europaeus) (or furze or whin) is part
of a genus of flowering plants in the
family Fabaceae. The species are native to parts of Western Europe and
northwest Africa, with the majority of species in Iberia. Common gorse flowers a little in
late autumn and through the winter, coming into flower most strongly in spring.
Some gorse is almost always in flower, hence the old country phrase: "When
gorse is out of blossom, kissing's out of fashion".
Gorse is closely related to the
brooms, and like them, has green stems and very small leaves and is adapted to
dry growing conditions. However it differs in its extreme thorniness, the shoots being modified into branched thorns
which almost wholly replace the leaves as the plant's functioning
photosynthetic organs.
Gorse thrives in poor growing
areas and conditions including drought. It grows in sunny sites, usually on
dry, sandy soils, sometimes on very rocky soils, where many species cannot
thrive. Its nitrogen-fixing capacity
helps other plants establish better.
It is a valuable plant for wildlife, providing dense thorny cover ideal for
protecting bird nests. Its flowers are also very much appreciated by bees. The complex morphology of the
flowers includes a mechanism which maximizes the pollen taken away by the bees
and hence the dissemination. In addition, the seed contains an elaiosome making it
disseminated by ants, like several other
plants described in this blog. Gorse flowers are
edible and can be used in salads, tea and to make a non-grape-based fruit wine.
The furze is
the badge of the Sinclair and MacLennan clans of Scotland. Compare this with the broom (planta genista) as the
emblem and basis of the name of the Plantagenet kings of England.
