Genista monspessulana (L.)L.A.S.Johnson, Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Cytisus monspessulanus L.; Teline monspessulana (L.) K. Koch

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Canary broom, Cape broom, French broom, Montpellier broom, soft broom

Spanish: teline

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Much-branched, usually evergreen shrub up to 2.5 m high; twigs villous, particularly when young, round and ribbed. Leaves usually sparsely to densely clothed in appressed hairs on both surfaces, sometimes subglabrous above, petiolate, 3-foliolate; leaflets shortly petiolulate, obovate, acute to obtuse and shortly mucronate, 7-20-(30) x (3)-4-10-(12) mm; terminal leaflet larger than lateral leaflets; stipules triangular to lanceolate, up to 2.5 mm long. Inflorescence a cluster, with axis < 10 mm long, of 4-7 flowers, terminating short lateral branches; pedicels c. 3 mm long. Calyx densely hairy, bilabiate; upper lip deeply 2-fid; lower lip shortly 3-lobed. Corolla yellow to golden yellow, 9-13 mm long; standard glabrous. Pod densely villous, oblong, 3-6-seeded, c. 18-20 mm long, 18-20 mm long; seeds green to black, ellipsoid or orbicular, flattened, c. 2.5 mm in diameter"  (Webb et al., 1988; 678).

Habitat/ecology:  "Grass- and heathland, sclerophyll forests, riparian habitats, rock outcrops, coastal areas.  In the native range, this shrub grows in scrub and in rocky places.  It forms extensive and dense thickets where invasive that displace native plant and forage species.  It is a fast-growing shrub that becomes reproductive within 2-3 years"  (Weber, 2003; p. 179).

In New Zealand, "waste places, scrubland"  (Webb et al., 1988; 678).

Propagation:  "Seeds are copiously produced and long-lived, and the soil seed bank may contain more than 6,000 seeds per square meter.  Seedlings are fairly shade tolerant.  The shrub easily resprouts from the root crown after damage"  (Weber, 2003; p. 179).

Native range:  "Mediterranean, Asia Minor, Azores"  (Webb et al., 1988; 678).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011) Under eradication.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Australia Australia (continental)	New South Wales	introduced invasive cultivated	National Herbarium of New South Wales (2011) "Cultivated and widely naturalized".
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 678) As Teline monspessulana (L.) K. Koch
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Oregon)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Washington)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Control: 

Physical:  "Manual control methods include hand pulling of seedlings and young plants and removing larger individuals with a weed wrench.  Cutting at or below ground of shrubs after seed set, and mowing the following summer to kill seedlings is another method.  It needs to be repeated over several years to deplete the soil seed bank"

Chemical:  "Chemical control is done by foliar spraying of glyphosate, 2,4-D, or picloram plus triclopyr applied to plants in full leaf"  (Weber, 2003; p. 179).

Additional information:
Profile from the Global Invasive Species Database.
Information from the US Forest Service Fire Effects Information System.
Information from the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
Information on biological control from the South Australia Research and Development Institute.
Information on biological control from CSIRO, Australia.
Stewardship Abstract from The Nature Conservancy.

Additional online information about Genista monspessulana is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Genista monspessulana as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Genista monspessulana may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre. 2011. International Legume Database & Information Service. Online searchable database.

National Herbarium of New South Wales. 2011. PlantNet: New South Wales Flora online. The Plant Information Network System of the Botanic Gardens Trust Version 2.0. Online resource.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.

Weber, Ewald. 2003. Invasive plants of the World. CABI Publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. 548 pp.