Scotch broom, Cytisus scoparius: Backyard Biodiversity with Linda Jennings

Welcome to our new Backyard Biodiversity video series with Linda Jennings, herbarium Collections Curator. Follow @pressedplants on Instagram!

While this plant has lovely, bright yellow flowers and is loved by pollinators for its prolific flower display and lots of pollen, this evergreen shrub is ‘very invasive’ in the Pacific Northwest and therefore is not one of my favourites.

But, since it is here you might as well play with the flowers and pretend you’re a bee! Have your finger ‘land’ on the ‘keel’ petals and watch the trigger mechanism of the stamens hit your finger, which would be the pollinators abdomen. This is a clever evolution mechanism to ensure pollen will be unintentionally ‘gathered’ by pollinators and moved to another flower! So Cool!  

#backyardbiodiversity
#pressedplants
#herbarium
#pnw
#scotchbroom
#cytisusscoparius