Expoplant - Acquista online: Spartium junceum -

Native to the Mediterranean basin; in Italy it is widespread in all the regions, from the hilly to the mountain (from 250 to 1500 m).
It can grow up to 3 m tall and always has a shrub bearing. It branches considerably from the base, giving rise to a broad, irregular crown with a maximum diameter of more than 2 m.
The stems are very robust, elastic and thin and have a disorderly pattern. The irregular rind has a bright green color in the young parts and darkens towards the basal part.
The leaves are deciduous, simple, with alternating insertion on flexible and green branches. The lamina is lanceolate (0.5 x 2 cm), greenish gray in color and in full margin. The leaves are few in number and characterized by an early fall that occurs at the completion of the development, which generally coincides with the flowering. The young twigs are not angular (as for the genus Cytisus) but with a circular and smooth section.
The flowers are hermaphrodite with bright yellow papilionacea corolla and provided with a 2 cm flag. The glass is greenish and measures 0.5 cm. The flowers are gathered in terminal racemic inflorescences and are slightly perfumed. The flowering period starts from the month of May and protects throughout the summer. The fruit is represented by a legume that becomes very dark, almost blackish, with maturation; it remains upright and measures a maximum of 8 cm.
It is a widespread natural shrub on escarpments and difficult, dry, sandy or rocky soils, with exposure to the sun, constituting important spots for the trim of sloping soils and of considerable beauty during flowering. It is appreciated as an ornamental plant, for its rusticity and ease of cultivation, especially in mild climates and exposed in full sun; however, it requires pruning to contain the crown 's expansion. It is a plant that tolerates calcareous and clayey substrates, and is very resistant to pollutants. It is also a species very suitable for environmental rebuilding and for the colonization of marginal areas on slopes.