Spanish Broom

A native of the Mediterranean and Atlantic islands, Spanish Broom is an invasive shrub in the Americas. It was imported in San Francisco as a decorative shrub in the mid-1900s. In the early twentieth century, it was planted along roadways throughout California to help stabilize the soil and prevent erosion.

The photos in this post are from the San Bernardino Mountains. I assume this is Spanish Broom, rather than the native California Broom, which is the smaller of the two. It’s very subjective, of course, but it seems that there are twice as many of the yellow shrouded plants than during previous years.

The broom’s thick perfume is reminiscent of honeysuckle, but there are distinct undercurrents of other scents. It isn’t an unpleasant smell. It’s long history of use in perfumery is understandable.

The photo above was taken two days later than the first two. The mist shrouding the peak in the background is a mix of smog and low-lying cloud.