Israel wildflowers: Spiny Broom

Calicotome villosa, Spiny Broom, Thorny Broom,
Hebrew: קידה שעירה, Arabic: الجربان, القندول


Scientific name:		Calicotome villosa (Poiret) Link
Common name:		Spiny Broom, Thorny Broom
Hebrew name:		קידה שעירה
Arabic name:		الجربان, القندول
Plant Family:		Papilionaceae, פרפרניים


Life form:		Phanerophyte shrub
Spinescence:		Stems
Stems:		Stem up to 300 cm; green-stemmed, characterized by raised ridges and grooves
Leaves:		Alternate, compound, trifoliolate
Flowers:		Hermaphrodite; Yellow
Fruits / pods:		Legume, up to 50 x 10 mm, densely villous
Flowering Period:		January, February, March
Habitat:		Mediterranean maquis and forest, Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:		Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:		Mediterranean
Summer shedding:		Perennating

Derivation of the botanical name:

Calicotome, perhaps from, Greel for the calyx, and tome, division, section, cutting
villosa, shaggy, hairy.

The standard author abbreviation Poiret is used to indicate Jean Louis Marie Poiret (1755–1834), a French clergyman, botanist and explorer.
The standard author abbreviation Link is used to indicate Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link (1767–1851), a German naturalist and botanist.

See the list of Medicinal herbs in Israel, the parts used and their medical uses to treat various diseases.