Cool Broom Flower Dispersal 20+
It is also the hardiest broom tolerating temperatures down to about -25 C.
broom flower dispersal. Oct 22 2016 Seed pods of broom shrub disperse seeds via evaporative tension buildup and release. Mar 02 2020 Spread mainly by prolific seed production and dispersal it is difficult to kill scotch broom in the long term because of the seeds. It would not do for seeds to fall and grow beneath their parent plants because of increased competition for food.
Conradii has an erect candleabra- or broom-like growth form reaching 15-50 cm height. Scotch broom produces flowers that are tripped. Broom powers its explosions in exactly the opposite manner.
The ants carry the seeds back to their nests creating dense infestations of scotch broom around ant nests. Broom without seed can be chipped and used as mulch in the same area from which it has been cut left to decompose or burned. As a pod warms on a summers day the side facing the sun dries faster than that in the shade.
In late summer its pea-pod like seed capsules burst open often with an audible pop spreading seed from the parent plant. Establish dense competitive native or non-invasive vegetation to help prevent noxious weed infestations. All brooms are prolific seed producers with a single shrub producing as many as 2000 to 3500 pods containing up to 20000 seeds.
This species was introduced to the United States in the 1850s to control soil erosion and as a landscape ornamental. Dispersal of seeds is mainly from explosion of pods but seeds may also be dispersed in mud attached to animals or vehicles. Broom plants produce large amounts of seed annually typically 18000 starting at two to three years of age.
The pods dry and split open suddenly with some considerable force which throws their seeds for some distance. Its launching energy comes not from an increase of liquid but from its evaporation. Scotch broom may also be dispersed by goats and horses digesting the seeds.