Ulex gallii Western Gorse

Similar to Common Gorse (Ulex europaeus) but usually smaller with straighter, more slender and hardly furrowed spines and with somewhat smaller, less scented flowers. It is a plant of infertile, acidic soils on heathland or on leached basic soils on coastal cliffs. Like Common Gorse it is an Oceanic-Temperate species but it has a more distinct western distribution in Britain and it is often a significant member of the Atlantic Heath community of coastal western Britain. It is found throughout Wales but is less common than Common Gorse. In West Glamorgan it is a familar feature of the Gower clifflands, the Gower Commons and also the heathlands of the South Wales Coalfield where it is frequently found with Commmon Gorse.

Native