Calicotome spinosa - MHNT Calicotome spinosa, the thorny broom or spiny broom, is a very spiny, densely branched shrub of the family Fabaceae which can reach up to three metres in height. It grows in the Western Mediterranean region on sunny slopes and dry, rocky ground. It is found in Spain, France, Italy, Croatia, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Turkey, and it has been introduced to New Zealand. From March to June it produces bright yellow flowers which are borne singly or in small clusters. The seed-pods are 30mm long and are almost hairless, unlike those of the similar species Calicotome villosa.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
⚠ sources differ — AusTraits: 32.5 mm · GIFT: 35 mm
Fruit width6 mm
Leaf length7.5 mm
Leaf length max7 mm
Leaf width3.5 mm
Petiole length1 cm
Plant height3 m
⚠ sources differ — AusTraits: 3 m · TRY: 2.65 m
Plant height max3 m
Seed length3 mm
Seed mass7.85 mg
Seed mass max7.47 mg
Seed mass min7.47 mg
Life cycle & reproduction9
Deciduousnessevergreen
Dispersal typeunspecialized
Life formshrub
Life spanperennial
Lifespan years10 years
Pollination modebiotic
Pollination syndromeinsect
Raunkiær life formphanerophyte
Reproduction asexualabsent
Diet & foraging1
Parasiteindependent
Habitat & environment13
Aquaticterrestrial
Climatesubtropical
Climberself-supporting
Epiphyteterrestrial
Fruit fleshinessdry
Fruit typelegume
Growth formshrub
Habitat GIFTCoastal
Leaf compoundnesscompound
Leaf shapeobovate
Mycorrhizapresent
Mycorrhiza typenon-ectomycorrhizal
Woodinesswoody
Physiology & chemistry8
Leaf C:N ratio11.82 g/g
Leaf c496 mg/g
Leaf dry-matter content (LDMC)265 mg/g
Leaf n38.61 mg/g
Leaf p1 mg/g
Nitrogen fixingnitrogen_fixer
Photosynthetic pathwayC3
Specific leaf area (SLA)10.46 mm²/mg
05DNA & barcoding2 specimens
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Calicotome spinosa has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
DNA specimens2
Marker genes1
GenBank sequences3
eDNA detections1
Countries1
The DNA barcodea real sequence read deposited for this species
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
★ITS3
fungal barcode
06Genome at a glanceCCDB
The complete instruction manualCalicotome spinosa carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
CCDB · iber-fl — Variabilidad cromosmica de las Genisteas de la flora espaola en relaccin con su ecologa. I. Saudo, A.Ci. Biol. Ecol. Sist.2(2): 117-120(1973).
CCDB · ipcn-api-dl — SANUDO, A. 1979. Chromosome variability in the Genisteae (Adams.) Benth. (Leguminosae). Webbia 34: 363–408.
CCDB · book-ipcn73-74 — SANUDO, A. 1973. Variabilidad cromosomica de las Genisteas de la fl espanola en relacion con su ecologia. I. Numero y comportamiento de 1 cromosomas durante la meiosis. C. Seccion Cephalospartum del Gen. Genista L. y generos ~ Adanson, Spartium L. Teline Medicus, Calycotome Link y Argylobrium Ecklin & Zenhyer. Cuad. C. Biol. 2(2): 117 1200
CCDB · CromoCat 2015 — Aboucaya, A. & Verlaque, R. (1990). IOPB Chromosome Data 2 (ed. C.A. Stace). Int. Organ. Pl. Biosyst. Newslett. 15: 10-11.
CCDB · CromoCat 2015 — Sañudo, A. (1973c). Variabilidad cromosómica de las Genisteas de la flora española en relacción con su ecología. I. Ci. Biol. Ecol. Sist. 2(2): 117-120.
CCDB · CromoCat 2015 — Sañudo, A. (1979). Chromosome variability in the Genisteae (Adams.) Benth. (Leguminosae) Webbia 34: 363–408
CCDB · book-ipcn72 — KLIPHUIS, E . & J.H. WIEFFERING. 1972. Chromosome numbers of some Angiosperms from the South of France. Acta Bot. Neer!. 21: 598-604.
CCDB · CromoCat 2015 — Castroviejo & al. (2003). Flora Iberica (vol. I-VIII, X, XIV) Publicaciones del CSIC Madrid
CCDB · CromoCat 2015 — Gilot, J. (1965). Contribution à l'étude cytotaxinomique des Genisteae et des Loteae. Cellule 65: 317-347.
2n 242×CCDB · CromoCat 2015
CCDB · CromoCat 2015 — Aboucaya, A. & Verlaque, R. (1990). IOPB Chromosome Data 2 (ed. C.A. Stace). Int. Organ. Pl. Biosyst. Newslett. 15: 10-11.
CCDB · CromoCat 2015 — Gilot, J. (1965). Contribution à l'étude cytotaxinomique des Genisteae et des Loteae. Cellule 65: 317-347.
CCDB · CromoCat 2015 — Lambert, A. M. & Giesi, J. (1967). Observations caryologiques sur les Luzules. Inf. Ann. Caryosyst. et Cytogenet. 1: 27-34.
n 241×CCDB · CromoCat 2015
CCDB · CromoCat 2015 — Castroviejo & al. (2003). Flora Iberica (vol. I-VIII, X, XIV) Publicaciones del CSIC Madrid
n 261×CCDB · Cannon, 2015
CCDB · Cannon, 2015 — Aboucaya, A. & R. Verlaque, 1990
08Occurrence & distribution
Record type9 059 records
Wild obs. + sensor8 192
Museum / vouchered342
Other525
Origin
Native875
Introduced171
Range
Area of Occupancy AOO10 404 km²
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Coordinate accuracy45% within 1 km
≤100 m 1 692≤1 km 1 119≤10 km 3 400>10 km 46
6 257 georeferenced · 1 935 without coordinates
Open the mapobservation + sensor8 192
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Coordinate accuracy45% within 1 km
≤100 m 17≤1 km 79≤10 km 114>10 km 5
215 georeferenced · 127 without coordinates
Open the institutions mapphysical evidence342
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
10Collections & institutions
Holding institutions29 of 49 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
Institution
Specimens
València, ES
54
Museo Entomologico de Leonlocation not on record
37
LDlocation not on record
29
Barcelona, ES
28
MAlocation not on record
25
BDBClocation not on record
20
BClocation not on record
15
UIBlocation not on record
13
CJBGlocation not on record
10
Canberra, AU
8
College of the Atlantic, Museumlocation not on record
7
Alicante, ES
7
Entomological Society of Latvialocation not on record
6
JBSlocation not on record
5
Mount Annan, AU
5
Christchurch, NZ
5
Universidad del Pais Vasco (UPV/EHU)location not on record
4
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record
4
Salamanca, ES
4
Auckland, NZ
4
Museo Achille Folettolocation not on record
4
CICYTEXlocation not on record
3
Vitoria, ES
3
Madrid, ES
3
San Jose State University, Museum of Birds and Mammalslocation not on record
3
Badajoz, ES
3
Granada, ES
2
San Sebastián, ES
2
Philadelphia, US
2
Parkville, AU
2
Pamplona, ES
2
Santiago de Compostela, ES
2
Armidale, AU
2
Palmerston North, NZ
2
Paris, FR
2
Wlocation not on record
2
Rotorua, NZ
1
Xiamen, CN
1
Jaén, ES
1
BRNUlocation not on record
1
Kensington, AU
1
San Francisco, US
1
Henry Brockhouse Collectionlocation not on record
1
Adelaide, AU
1
Uppsala, SE
1
Institut und Museum fuer Geologie und Palaeontologielocation not on record
1
ESP003location not on record
1
Dresden, DE
1
South Kensington, GB
1
49 institutions · 342 of 342 vouchered records shown
09Environmental DNA1 detections
Where the DNA of Calicotome spinosa was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Detections DNA found1
Studies independent surveys1
Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections
Where its DNA was found
0 of 1 detections have coordinates
Open the map0 countries0
How strong is each trace?
DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation6 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility9 059 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI1 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics2 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗