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Portrait of Dwarf gorse

Nature · Shrubs

Dwarf gorse

Native · low spiny evergreen · flowers Jul–Nov · lowland heath, mainly south-east England

Ulex minor — Fabaceae

Dwarf gorse is the smallest of Britain's three gorses, a low, compact, weakly spined shrub of lowland heath whose pale lemon-yellow flowers open in late summer and autumn. Its stronghold has traditionally been south-east England, though it is being found more widely. It is easily confused with western gorse, and the two were long misrecorded for one another.

How to spot them

  • ▸Low, compact shrub, weaker and less sharply spined than common or western gorse
  • ▸Small, pale lemon-yellow pea flowers, standard petal 6 to 12 mm, mainly August and September
  • ▸Calyx with appressed hairs, mean length under 9 mm; narrow bracteoles 0.5 to 1.3 mm wide
  • ▸Small pods, 9 to 12 mm, with few seeds
  • ▸Look-alikes: western gorse has larger, golden-yellow flowers and a calyx over 10 mm; common gorse flowers in spring and is much taller and shaggier

How to know it

The smallest British gorse, with pale lemon-yellow flowers on weak spines in late summer, on heaths mainly in the south-east

Dwarf gorse — Ulex minor.

Its flowers are paler and smaller than those of its western relative, and its calyx averages under 9 millimetres

Dwarf gorse versus western gorse.

Its traditional stronghold is south-east England, but it is being recorded more widely elsewhere

Dwarf gorse.

It flowers from July to November, with a peak in August and September, long after common gorse's spring display

Dwarf gorse.

Its species name is Latin for 'smaller'

Dwarf gorse — Ulex minor.

Quick-fire facts

  • •Ulex minor, family Fabaceae; minor is Latin for smaller
  • •Traditionally concentrated in south-east England but increasingly found outside its stronghold (BSBI plant crib)
  • •Flowers July to November, peaking in August and September (BSBI plant crib)
  • •Petals are lemon yellow, standard 6 to 12 mm; western gorse petals are golden yellow, 12 to 17 mm (BSBI plant crib)
  • •Calyx mean length usually under 9 mm, against over 10 mm in western gorse; bracteoles 0.5 to 1.3 mm wide (BSBI plant crib)
  • •Spines are weaker and less sharp than in western gorse (BSBI plant crib)
  • •BSBI notes the use of mean measurements from several specimens reduces misidentification
  • •Common gorse, Ulex europaeus, is on the site as 'Gorse'

Drill it — 6 cards

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Sources