Common broom or Spanish broom: how to tell them apart?
Common broom and Spanish broom look alike and are often mixed up. Here is how to tell them apart, feature by feature, with their photos and the details to look for.
⚡ The quick answer
Common broom
Cytisus scoparius
Spanish broom
Spartium junceum
Both have green stems and fragrant bright yellow flowers, but common broom has angular stems with 5 ridges clearly noticeable to the touch, whereas Spanish broom has round, smooth, almost rush-like stems; its flowering is also later (summer) and much more fragrant.
🍃 Leaves
Small, often reduced to mere scales on the green stems
Few, tiny, quickly deciduous — photosynthesis takes place mainly through the stems
🌸 Flowers
Large bright yellow flowers, butterfly-shaped
Large, very fragrant bright yellow flowers, butterfly-shaped
🍎 Fruits
Flat black pods that burst open noisily when ripe
Long flat pods hairy along the edges
🪵 Bark
Angular green stems, photosynthetic even without leaves
Green, cylindrical, rush-like, flexible stems
📏 Size
1 to 2.5 m tall
1 to 3 m tall
🗺️ Habitat
Heathland, banks, acid and poor soils
Dry hillsides and banks of southern France, widely planted
⚠️ Toxicity
Seeds and young shoots toxic if eaten (alkaloids including sparteine), causing heart and digestive problems.
Seeds toxic if eaten (alkaloids), as in other brooms.
🔎 And from the Spanish broom side
Both have green stems and bright yellow flowers, but Spanish broom has round, smooth, almost rush-like stems, whereas common broom has angular stems with 5 ridges clearly noticeable to the touch; common broom also flowers earlier, in spring.
🌿 Go further
Want to practise spotting these details on real photos? Floraneo offers profiles and quizzes for dozens of look-alike species.
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.