''Calicotome spinosa'', the thorny broom or spiny broom, is a very spiny, densely branched

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

of the family

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

which can reach up to three metres in height. It grows in the Western

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

region on sunny slopes and dry, rocky ground. It is found in

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France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

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Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

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and Turkey, and it has been introduced to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. From March to June it produces bright yellow flowers which are borne singly or in small clusters. The seed-pods are 30mm long and are almost hairless, unlike those of the similar species ''

Calicotome villosa ''Calicotome villosa'', also known as hairy thorny broom and spiny broom, is a small shrubby tree native to the eastern Mediterranean region. Etymology ''Calicotome'' is derived from the Greek ''Kalux'', calyx and ''tomos'', cut ; this refers to ...

''.

Plant usages in antiquity

The florets were used in ancient times to flavor sesame oil.

Al-Tamimi, the physician Muhammad ibn Sa'id al-Tamimi ( ar, أبو عبد الله محمد بن سعيد التميمي), (died 990), known by his kunya, "Abu Abdullah," but more commonly as Al-Tamimi, the physician, was a tenth-century physician, who came to renown o ...

(10th century), describing the process, writes that in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

it was commonly practiced to collect the yellow florets of the spiny broom ( ar, القندول), spread them upon thickly woven sackcloth which laid out in the hot sun, pour over them hulled sesame seeds and cover them with linen sheets, while leaving them in this condition until the moisture in the florets has evaporated. In this manner, the sesame seeds would absorb the sweet fragrance of the florets. After one or two days, the florets and sesame seeds were then separated, the sesame placed on clean linen garments, being allowed to further dry-out from the moisture absorbed by the florets. This process was repeated up to 3 or 4 times, with a fresh batch of florets set out to dry, until at length the pungent flavor of the florets (resembling the taste of vanilla) had been fully imparted to the sesame seeds. The dried florets were then collected and pressed with the sesame seeds in order to produce a fragrant oil. The oil was formerly stored in glassware vessels, with just enough space left at the top to be sealed with the florets of the spiny broom.Zohar Amar and Yaron Serri, ''The Land of Israel and Syria as Described by al-Tamimi – Jerusalem Physician of the 10th Century'', Ramat-Gan 2004, pp. 119–122 (Hebrew) Today, the florets are still used by

Bedouins The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arabs, Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert ...

to flavor butter.

References

*David Burnie (1995) Wild Flowers of the Mediterranean. *

Oleg Polunin Oleg Vladimirovitch Polunin (November 1914 – July 1985) was an English botanist, teacher and traveller. He was one of three sons to the artists Vladimir Polunin, Vladimir (born in the Russian Empire) and Elizabeth Polunin. All three sons were in ...

& B. E. Smythies (1973) Flowers of South-West Europe:a field guide. *T. G. Tutin ''et al.'' (1968) Flora Europaea, Volume 2. spinosa Flora of North Africa {{Faboideae-stub