From Free net encyclopedia
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Gorse
| image = Whin_or_Gorse_on_Fife_Coastal_Trail.jpg
| image_width = 220px
| image_caption = Dwarf Gorse
| regnum = Plantae
| divisio = Magnoliophyta
| classis = Magnoliopsida
| ordo = Fabales
| familia = Fabaceae
| subfamilia = Faboideae
| tribus = Cytiseae
| genus = Ulex
| genus_authority = L.
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
Ulex argenteus
Ulex boivinii
Ulex borgiae
Ulex cantabricus
Ulex densus
Ulex europaeus - Common Gorse
Ulex gallii - Western Gorse
Ulex genistoides
Ulex micranthus
Ulex minor - Dwarf Gorse
Ulex parviflorus
<tr><td>Ref:
ILDIS Version 6.05
}}
Gorse (
Ulex) comprises a
genus of about 20 species of
evergreen shrubs in the subfamily
Faboideae of the pea family
Fabaceae, native to western
Europe and northwest
Africa, with the majority of species in
Iberia. Other common names for gorse include
whin and
furze.
Gorse is closely related to the
brooms, and like them, has green stems and very small leaves and adapts to dry growing conditions, but differs in its extreme spininess, with the leaves being modified into 1-4 cm long spines. All the species have yellow flowers, some with a very long flowering season.
The most widely familiar species is the
Common Gorse (
Ulex europaeus), the only species native in most of western
Europe, where it grows in sunny sites, usually on dry, sandy soils. It is also the largest species, reaching 2-3 m height; this compares with typically 0.2-0.4m for
Western gorse (
U. gallii). This latter species is characteristic of highly exposed
Atlantic coastal
heathland, where a combination of wind strength and salt spray prevents larger plants from growing.
Image:Ulex europaeus.jpg
Common gorse flowers most strongly in spring, though it bears some flowers year round, hence the old country phrase: "When gorse is out of blossom, kissing's out of fashion". The flowers have a very distinctive strong
coconut scent. Western gorse and
Dwarf gorse differ in being almost entirely late summer flowering (August-September in
Britain), and also have somewhat darker yellow flowers than Common gorse.
Gorse is a fire-climax plant, very well adapted to stand-replacing fires, being highly inflammable, and having seed pods that are to a large extent opened by fire, thus allowing rapid regeneration after fire. The burnt stumps also readily sprout new growth from the roots. Where fire is excluded, gorse soon tends to be shaded out by taller-growing trees, unless other factors like exposure also apply. Typical fire recurrence periods in gorse stands are 5-20 years.
Gorse thrives best in poor growing areas and conditions; it has been widely used for land reclamation (e.g. mine tailings), where 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; in
Britain and
France, it is particularly noted for supporting
European Stonechats and
Dartford Warblers. The flowers are sometimes eaten by the
larva of the
Double-striped Pug moth and another moth,
Coleophora albicosta feeds exclusively on
Ulex.
In many areas of
North America, southern
South America,
Australia and
New Zealand, the Common Gorse, introduced as an
ornamental plant, has become naturalised and an
invasive weed due to its aggressive seed dispersal; it has proved very difficult to eradicate. However, in New Zealand, it has been found to form a useful nursery species for native bush regeneration. If gorse stands are left for several years, native seedlings generate in their shelter and grow up through the gorse, cutting out its light and eventually replacing it.
eo:Ulekso
fr:Ajonc
lt:Dygliakrūmis
