The plant
Spartium junceum, known as Spanish broom, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and the sole species in the genus Spartium. It is closely related to the other brooms, in the genera Cytisus and Genista. It is a vigorous, deciduous shrub growing to 2-4 metres tall, rarely 5 metres. In late spring and summer the shoots are covered in profuse fragrant yellow pea-like flowers 1 to 2 cm across.
The species is native to the Mediterranean in southern Europe, southwest Asia and northwest Africa, where it is found in sunny sites, usually on dry, sandy soils. The alkaloids found in all parts of the plant have toxic effects. The plant has traditionally been used for the production of fiber, especially for tying vines. It produces a yellow dye, and its branches are used to make brooms. In Catalan it is known as ginesta, and it has been regarded as the national flower of Catalonia.
The species is also called rush broom or weaver's broom. The Greek genus name Spartium refers to the use of the plant for cordage, and the Latin epithet junceum means rush-like, after the shoots, which resemble those of the rush genus Juncus. The shoots are thick, somewhat succulent and grey-green, with very sparse small deciduous leaves 1 to 3 cm long, and most photosynthesis takes place in the green shoots, a water-conserving strategy in a dry climate. In late summer the seed pods mature black at 8 to 10 cm long and burst open, often with an audible crack, spreading the seed.
The plant grows on rocky coasts, in fields, woods and arid, rocky mountain areas of central and southern Europe and around the Mediterranean basin, with grayish stems, many flexible branches and alternate leaves. It has been widely introduced elsewhere and is regarded as a noxious invasive species in places with a Mediterranean climate such as California, Oregon, Hawaii, central Chile, southeastern Australia, the Western Cape, the Canary Islands and the Azores. It is also used as a hedge because it fixes nitrogen, and its fibers have been used for cloth. In Turkey the flowers have been used in traditional medicine to treat ulcers. In Peru the plant is known as retama, and in Aymara and Quechua culture it is believed to protect against evil.
The absolute
The flowers are gold-yellow and arranged in terminal racemes that blossom in May. The part used is the flowers. The constituents of genet include free acids, phenols, terpenes, esters and aliphatic aldehydes. The acute oral LD50 value in rats and the acute dermal LD50 value in rabbits both exceeded 5 g/kg.
Genet is found in the flowers of Spartium junceum. The concrete is a viscous, brownish mass.
Composition and identification
Triterpene and spartitrioside are constituents of the flowers. Five flavonoid glycosides with a catechol structure in ring B were isolated from the butanol extract: isoquercitrin, luteolin 4'-glucoside, quercetin 3,4'-diglucoside, azaleatin 3-glucoside and quercetin 4'-glucoside. Genet absolute carries the FEMA number 2504. At 30 ppm its taste is sweet, hay, warm, herbal tea with a woody, herbal nuance.
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