Cytisus scoparius ssp maritimus   Prostrate Broom RR DD N

Cytisis scoparius ssp maritimus whole Cytisis scoparius ssp maritimus close

In June of 2004 we saw these plants without flowers on the cliffs of Guernsey. They were all hardly more than 40 cm tall and looked like they'd all been combed into a 1960s Beatle haircut. In Spring of 2005 they were all in full flower and some were so prostrate that they clung to the ground like a carpet. This is a spectacular plant and unlike so many it can compete with the Carpobrotus edulis which is a smothering weed in these parts.

C. scoparius ssp maritimus is found on the Channel islands, in a few places on the coast of Devon and Cornwall and in Pembrokeshire and on the Lleyn peninsular in Wales. It has also been recorded from a few coast sites in Ireland.

Cliffs of Les Tielles, Guernsey 16th April 2005

Added on 19th April 2005, updated 10th December 2008, 21st March 2010

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