About Genista germanica L.
Genista germanica L. is a small perennial shrub that can reach a height of 0.6 metres (2 ft 0 in). It has erect or prostrate stems that are woody at the base, with strong simple or branched thorns. Only the young branches are green and slightly hairy. Its deciduous leaves are oval-lanceolate, bright green, and covered in fine soft hairs. Its hermaphrodite flowers are arranged in short racemes; the flower calyx is covered in fine hairs with lanceolate teeth, and the corolla is yellow. This species blooms in May and June. The fruits are ovoid legumes that measure approximately 10 mm long, containing 2 to 4 ovoid, brownish seeds. Genista germanica L. grows in Central Europe, Western Europe, and Southern Europe, with confirmed occurrences in Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Bulgaria, Former Yugoslavia, Italy, Romania, and France. These shrubs grow in thickets, poor pastures, heaths, and dry meadows, and prefer acidic soils. They typically grow at elevations between 0–800 metres (0–2,625 ft) above sea level, and rarely reach elevations of up to 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) above sea level.
