Bulnesia retama

Description

Retama is a genus of flowering bushes in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the broom tribe, Genisteae. Retama broom bushes are found natively in North Africa, the Levant and some parts of southern Europe. Retama raetam and Retama monosperma have white flowers, while Retama sphaerocarpa has yellow flowers. It remains an open question in taxonomy whether the members of the Retama genus should be incorporated into the genus Genista. The species contain cytisine, a toxic alkaloid. In the Spanish language the name "retama" is in common use for broom bushes in general, includingthe genus Retama.