Family: Fabaceae, Pea view all from this family
Description Introduced, invasive shrub with many small, green, strongly angled branches and bright yellow pea flowers usually borne singly on stalks from leaf axils.
Flowers: About 3/4" (2 cm) long. Bloom April-June.
Leaves: Those near base of branches with 3 leaflets, each about 1/2" (1.5 cm) long; upper leaves with 1 leaflet.
Fruit: Slender pod, 2-3" (5-7.5 cm) long, hairy only on edges.
Height: To 10' (3 m).
Habitat Road banks, open woods, dunes, beaches, and fields.
Range Europe native; introduced in North America and naturalized in the West from British Columbia south to California, Utah, and Montana; in the East, Nova Scotia south to Georgia and Alabama, and west to Tennessee and Michigan.
Discussion When in full flower the plant is a mass of yellow, but this ornamental has proven to be such a pesky shrub that it is now widely classified as a noxious weed. It has been most problematic in the West, where it fills in many areas that were once open prairies and sparse woods and has taken over millions of acres once occupied by native plants.
