Do not plant. Listed invasive in South Carolina.
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Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including SC
Genus host records with ranges including SC · Cytisus
- Aethalura intertextaFour-Barred Gray
- Apamea sordensBordered Apamea, Rustic Shoulder-Knot
- Colias philodiceClouded Sulphur, Clover Butterfly
- Ectropis crepusculariaThe Small Engrailed, Saddleback Looper
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Uresiphita reversalisGenista Caterpillar, Genista Cbroom Moth
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Cytisus
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 5a–8b
- Soil pH
- Neutral
- Flower color
- Yellow, pink or red
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Several stems
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Spring
- Fruit ends
- Summer
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Flower color · “Yellow, pink or red” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Several stems” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 5a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “4–8 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Occasionally dry; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “4–8 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Broom; Scotch Broom
Conservation status
| South Carolina rank | Not available |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| SC status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- tnky_atlas
- usda
- sc_invasive
- South Carolina occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications