Genista pulchella, Vis. Genista albida, Willd. Genista pilosa, L. Genista lobelii, DC. Genista pumila, (Debeaux & Reverchon ex Hervier) Vierh.

14. G. pulchella Vis. View in CoL , Flora (Regensb.) 13: 51 (1830)

( G. villarsii G. C. Clementi ).

Spreading, unarmed or sometimes weakly spiny shrub. Young branches and both surfaces of the leaves with dense, long, sericeous appressed or patent hairs. Leaves 2-9 x 1 *5-3 mm, sessile, narrowly elliptical. Flowers borne singly in the axil of each bract in congested racemes. Bracteoles absent; pedicels 2-5 mm. Calyx c. 4 mm. Standard 7-10 mm, ovate, with dense sericeous hairs. Mountains of S.E. France, W. Jugoslavia and Albania. Al Ga Ju.

15. G. albida Willd. View in CoL , Sp. Pl. 3: 942 (1802)

(G. scythica Paez., G. involucrata auct. pro parte, non Spach).

Like 14 but never spinose; young branches and leaves with short hairs; leaves 3-10 x 1 *5-4 mm, elliptical to obovate, sometimes glabrous above; flowers borne singly or in pairs in the axil of each bract; bracteoles sometimes present; pedicels 1-3 mm; calyx 5-7 mm; standard 9-12 mm. E. part of Balkan peninsula, S. Ukraine. Bu Gr?Ju Rm Rs (W, K).

G. halacsyi Heldr. , Sched. Herb. Graec. Norm. no. 1526 (1899), from S. Greece, and G. millii Heldr. ex Boiss., FI. Or., Suppl. 160 (1888), from S.E. Greece, are perhaps conspecific with 15.

16. G. pilosa L. View in CoL , Sp. Pl. 710 (1753).

Procumbent to suberect shrub up to 150 cm. Leaves 5-12 mm, usually oblanceolate, shortly petiolate to subsessile, appressed-sericeous beneath, glabrous above. Flowers borne singly or in pairs in the axil of each bract, in lax racemes on ascending branches. Bracteoles absent. Calyx 4-5 mm. Standard 8-10 mm, broadly ovate with sparse, appressed-sericeous hairs. W. & C. Europe, extending to S. Sweden, C. Italy and Macedonia. Al Au Be Br Bu Cz Da Ga Ge He Hs Ho Hu It Ju Po Rm?Rs (W).

Sect. Erinacoides Spach . Branches spiny. Leaves usually simple. Standard broadly ovate, equalling keel; standard and keel usually sericeous. Legume narrowly oblong, sericeous. Seeds 1 to many. (17-19). G. lobelii group. Spreading, much-branched, spiny shrubs. Leaves simple. Most flowers borne singly in the axil of each bract.

The species of this group show an overall similarity but the differential characters appear to be constant even where the taxa are sympatric, e.g. 17 and 18 in the Sierra de Segura. 1 Some pulvini with spinose stipules 19. baetica 1 No pulvini with spinose stipules

2 Most pedicels 4-9 mm, slender; flowers usually only 1 or 2 on each branch 17. lobelii 2 Most pedicels 3-4 mm, stout; flowers usually in short racemes

18. pumila

17. G. lobelii DC. View in CoL in Lam. & DC., Fl. Fr. ed. 3, 4: 499 (1805).

Branches sometimes flexuous. Leaves 2-5 x 0*5-2 mm, elliptical to obovate, sericeous beneath, subglabrous above, caducous. Flowers borne singly in the axil of each bract, usually only one or two on each branch. Bracteoles less than 1 mm, borne at the middle of the pedicel. Pedicels 4 -9(-11) mm, slender. Calyx 4-6 mm, with short appressed hairs. Standard 8-12 mm, ovate, densely sericeous. Calcicole. • Mountains of S.E. France, S. & S. E. Spain. Ga Hs.

Sometimes divided into two subspecies: subsp. lobelii , from S.E. France, with the pulvini not bidentate and the legume 13-15 mm, lanceolate-oblong, 3- to 4-seeded; and subsp. longipes (Pau) Heywood , Collect. Bot. (Barcelona) 5: 519 (1957), from S. & S.E. Spain, with the pulvini bidentate and the legume 9-10 mm, ovate-oblong, 1- to 2-seeded. The pulvinus is not a reliable character and recent collections from at least one locality in Spain have the longer, 3- to 4-seeded legume of subsp. lobelii . Occasional plants from France also have a short 1- to 2-seeded legume.

18. G. pumila(Debeaux & Reverchon ex Hervier) Vierh. View in CoL , Verh. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien 69: 181 (1919).

Like 17 but branches stout, rigid; pedicels (1—)3—4(—5) mm, stout; flowers usually in short racemes. Calcicole. • Mountains of S., S.E. & E.C. Spain. Hs.