Andalucia Life Fauna and Flora, Flowers of Andalucia Southern Spain

Common Gorse, Ulex europaeus

It may be called common but this shrub is anything but. Native to Andalucia and the west of the Iberian Peninsula it is widely planted elsewhere. It is a spiny shrub with dark green stems and leaves. From March to September and sporadically at other times depending on the weather it is smothered in bright yellow flowers that have a faint aroma of coconut.