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Magnoliopsida
Ulex europaeus L.
EOL Text
More info for the terms: heath, shrubs, succession
In its native range on the western seaboard of continental Europe and the
British Isles, gorse often occurs as a dominant species in various heathland
plant communities [25,75]. Associated species in these Atlantic heathlands in
France and Spain include dwarf gorse (U. minor), heather (Calluna vulgaris),
several heath species (Erica spp.), Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius),
and hypnum moss (Hypnum jutlandicum) [29,93]. Gorse dominates shrubland
communities in northwest Spain where associated species include heath, heather, and
rock-rose (Halimium alyssoides), with minor amounts of herbaceous species such
as bristle bent (Agrostis curtisii), and velvet bentgrass (A. canina) [65,80,82]. Gorse may also be associated with maritime pine (Pinus pinaster),
bluegum eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus), shrubby blackberry (Rubus fruticosus),
western brackenfern (Pteridium aquilinum), European chestnut (Castanea sativa),
English oak (Quercus robur), and sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) [58].
On heathland in England, gorse is among several species (including birch (Betula
spp.), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), bracken, and Rhododendron ponticum)
invading sites formerly dominated by heather (20-50 years prior). Gorse is native here,
but is invasive in lowland heaths [54]. Gorse occurs both as a minor component in successional
stages dominated by other species, and as a dominant among native heathland species [55].
Heathlands consisting of bracken, gorse, and heather may also establish about 100 years
after cultivation ceases [70].
Very little information is available describing habitats and plant communities invaded by
gorse in North America. In California, gorse occurs in northern and coastal scrub
communities and grasslands [9]. At the Golden Gate National Recreation Area gorse occurs
with other nonnative shrubs including French broom (Genista monspessulana) and Scotch
broom [86]. Gorse also occurs in redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forests [76].
In Oregon gorse occurs along the coast and some parts of the interior. It occurs in
early succession after fire or logging in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests,
along with Scotch broom, foxglove (Digitalis spp.), coastal burnweed (Erechtites
minima), and common St. Johnswort (Hypericum perforatum) [38].
In Washington and southern British Columbia, gorse and Scotch broom infestations
threaten Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana)-Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii)
ecosystems. Ten percent of Vancouver Island is infested with gorse and Scotch broom, and there
is concern that their dense thickets shade out native vegetation and limit growth of conifer
seedlings [46,64]. In general, gorse forms a major component of the disturbed areas it occupies,
potentially excluding rare species associated with Oregon white oak ecosystems such as Howell's
triteleia (Triteleiagrandiflora var. howellii), golden paintbrush
(Castilleja levisecta), and deltoid balsamroot (Balsamorhiza deltoidea) [12].
Gorse was introduced to Hawaii before 1910. It is now found primarily at high elevations,
up to about 7,900 feet (2,400 m) with isolated pockets down to 1,500 feet (450 m) on southeastern
slopes on Hawaii; and between 2,100 and 7,300 feet (630-2,220 m) on northwestern slopes on Maui.
It forms dense, tall stands with as many as 60,000 stems/ha. Gorse is primarily a problem on grazing
lands, but may also invade open upland forests and subalpine shrublands [17].
More info for the term: shrub
Shrub
gorse
common gorse
furze
whin
More info on this topic.
This species is known to occur in association with the following Rangeland Cover Types (as classified by the Society for Range Management, SRM):
More info for the terms: cover, shrub
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES [79]:
201 Blue oak woodland
202 Coast live oak woodland
203 Riparian woodland
204 North coastal shrub
205 Coastal sage shrub
206 Chamise chaparral
207 Scrub oak mixed chaparral
208 Ceanothus mixed chaparral
209 Montane shrubland
214 Coastal prairie
215 Valley grassland
Germination of gorse seeds may take place at any time of the year, but peak seedling emergence occurs from spring to mid-summer, and again in fall [12,40,70].
Flowering in gorse is highly variable and rarely uniform in any one area. Information is scarce as to whether this is due to random flowering by individual plants, or multiple flowering on the same plants [97]. The main flowering period is normally spring and early summer, but a 2nd flowering period occurs in fall [15,70,97]. It is common for some flowers to be present throughout the year [97].
Flowering dates by location are reported as follows:
Location | Flowering dates |
California | February to July [57], March to May [37] |
northeastern U.S. | June [28,77] |
West Virginia | May to September [84] |
Vancouver Island, British Columbia | peak in May to June, sometimes in September [70] |
More info on this topic.
This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):
More info for the term: cover
SAF COVER TYPES [23]:
229 Pacific Douglas-fir
230 Douglas-fir-western hemlock
232 Redwood
233 Oregon white oak
234 Douglas-fir-tanoak-Pacific madrone
243 Sierra Nevada mixed conifer
244 Pacific ponderosa pine-Douglas-fir
245 Pacific ponderosa pine
249 Canyon live oak
250 Blue oak-foothills pine
255 California coast live oak
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This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):
More info for the term: shrub
KUCHLER [47] PLANT ASSOCIATIONS:
K002 Cedar-hemlock-Douglas-fir forest
K005 Mixed conifer forest
K006 Redwood forest
K010 Ponderosa shrub forest
K012 Douglas-fir forest
K026 Oregon oakwoods
K028 Mosaic of K002 and K026
K029 California mixed evergreen forest
K030 California oakwoods
K033 Chaparral
K034 Montane chaparral
K035 Coastal sagebrush
K036 Mosaic of K030 and K035
K048 California steppe
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 9
Specimens with Barcodes: 9
Species With Barcodes: 1
Gorse is native to central and western Europe and the British Isles, where it is an important component of native heathland vegetation (see Habitat Types and Plant Communities) ([37,45,70] and references therein). Gorse also occurs on abandoned farm land and disturbed forests in parts of its native range ([70] and references therein).
Introduced to the eastern U.S. as an ornamental and hedge plant in the early 1800s, gorse established outside cultivation by 1900 [49,50]. It now occurs along the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Massachusetts. Gorse was introduced as an ornamental in Oregon in the late 19th century, and has since spread widely in coastal areas from California to British Columbia and on 2 Hawaiian islands ([15,26,32,37,70] and references therein). It has been reported in the northern Sierra Nevada foothills and in every coastal county in California, from Santa Cruz to Del Norte, although sparingly in southern California [33,37]. Plants database provides a state distribution map of gorse.
Gorse was introduced to Australia and New Zealand in the mid-19th century for domestic sheep forage and hedges, and by 1900 was declared a noxious weed in those countries. It now occurs in most temperate areas of the world, and is considered a weed in Chile, Iran, Italy, Poland, northwest Spain, and Tasmania ([32,37,45,70] and references therein). Much of the literature on the biology, ecology, and management of gorse comes from New Zealand.
The following lists include vegetation types in which gorse is known or thought to be potentially invasive, based on reported occurrence and biological tolerances to site conditions. Precise distribution information is limited, especially in eastern North America; therefore, these lists are not exhaustive.