Genista fasselata, Genista sphacelata, Broom,
Hebrew: רתמה קוצנית, Arabic: الجينيستا الفاسلية

Scientific name:  Genista fasselata Decne.
Synonym name:  Genista sphacelata Spach
Common name:  variety of broom
Hebrew name:  רתמה קוצנית
Arabic name:  الجينيستا الفاسلية
Family:  Fabaceae or Papilionaceae, Legume / Pea Family, משפחת הפרפרניים

Genista fasselata, Genista sphacelata, Broom, רתמה קוצנית,  الجينيستا الفاسلية

Life form:  Shrub up to 150cm
Spinescence:  Stems
Succulence:  no
Stems:  Pulvini (localized swelling at a joint) and scale like
Leaves:  leaflets narrowly oblanceolate, serious
Inflorescence:  Flowers borne singly or in lax clusters in the axel of each bract, on spines or unarmed branches
Flowers:  Bracts leaflike; bracteoles minute; calyx 4-5mm, two-lipped, glabrous, the lips about 1/3 as long as tube; corolla yellow; standard 6-7mm, glabrous
Fruits / pods:  Legume
Flowering Period:  May, June
Habitat:  Batha, Phrygana (endemic to the Carmel)
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands
Chorotype:  Mediterranean
Summer shedding:  Perennating

Genista fasselata, Genista sphacelata, Broom, רתמה קוצנית,  الجينيستا الفاسلية


Derivation of the botanical name:
Genista, the Latin name from which the Plantagenet kings and queens of England took their name (planta genista), the Latin for yellow broom flower, which the Counts of Anjou wore as an emblem on their helmets. The Plantagenets were a huge powerful family not just in England but throughout Europe. The first Plantagenet was King Henry 2nd whose father owned vast lands in Anjou an area as big as Normandy around the modern town of Tours. Henry’s wife Eleanor ruled the even larger territory to the south called Aquitaine. Plantagenet Kings were thus the richest family in Europe and ruled England and half of France.
fasselata -unknown.
sphacelata ,Greek ‘sphacelata’ / ‘sphakelatos’ meaning gangrened.
The Hebrew name: רתימה ,רתמה, rithma, rethima, fom רותם, rothem (Retama).
  • The standard author abbreviation Decne. is used to indicate Joseph Decaisne (1807 – 1882), a French botanist and agronomist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Spach is used to indicate Édouard Spach (1801 – 1879), a French botanist.
The type of spines observed in Genista fasselata is rather rare in Genista, being absent in all the other taxa of subgen.

Genista fasselata, Genista sphacelata, Broom, רתמה קוצנית,  الجينيستا الفاسلية