Family: legumes (Fabaceae)
Flowering time: April–June
Size: 20–60 cm
Habitat: dry slopes, sunny forests, shrubby and rocky areas
Dwarf broom (Chamaecytisus supinus) is a shrub with erect branches. Its young shoots are densely bristly-haired, but with age they become bare. The branches are foliated with alternate, petiolate trifoliate leaves. The yellow flowers are usually over 2 cm long and often reddish-tinged. In summer they open in two- to eight-flowered capitate inflorescences at the tops of the shoots; in spring, less dense inflorescences may develop in the leaf axils along the stems. The corolla is usually completely hairless, while the calyx and later the tube are densely bristly-haired.
Dwarf broom grows on barren soils in warm and sunny locations. It is widespread throughout Slovenia, though it is not found high in the mountains. The plant and its fruits are not edible!
