Coronilla valentina | |
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C. valentina in Jardin des plantes, Paris | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fabales |
Family: | Fabaceae |
Subfamily: | Faboideae |
Genus: | Coronilla |
Species: | C. valentina
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Binomial name | |
Coronilla valentina |
Coronilla valentina, the shrubby scorpion-vetch,[2] scorpion vetch or bastard senna,[3] is a species of flowering plant in the genus Coronilla of the legume family Fabaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin, and introduced into Kenya and the United States.[1] It is an evergreen shrub growing to 80 cm (31 in) tall and wide, with pea-like foliage and fragrant, brilliant yellow flowers in spring and summer, followed by slender pods.[4] Linnaeus observed that the flowers, remarkably fragrant in the daytime, are almost scentless at night.[5]
In cultivation it is fairly hardy, but prefers Mediterranean conditions, with shelter and warm sunshine. The subspecies C. valentina subsp. glauca[6] (syn. C. glauca) and its cultivar 'Citrina'[7] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2017).[8]