# Yellow Bridal Broom

*Retama sphaerocarpa*

It acts as a 'nurse plant', enriching the dry soil with nitrogen and providing shade so other delicate plant species can grow beneath it.

- **Taxonomy:** Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Fabales › Fabaceae › Retama
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** desert
- **Habitat:** Dry Mediterranean shrublands, semi-arid slopes, and sandy riverbeds.
- **Diet:** Autotrophic (photosynthesis, nitrogen-fixing)
- **Range:** Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Algeria
- **Size:** 1 to 3 meters tall
- **Lifespan:** 20 to 50 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat loss due to intensive agriculture, urbanization, and land clearing.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. You can safely approach and admire its vibrant yellow blooms. Do not ingest any part of the plant, as it contains toxic alkaloids that can cause poisoning. If ingested, seek medical attention.

## About

Retama sphaerocarpa is a flowering bush species in the genus Retama , native to the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain) and North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia).

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/b27f2417-30b7-4069-a8a5-0ab3b0dbc03d
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/82731
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retama sphaerocarpa
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/386381925/medium.jpeg (Jorge Íñiguez, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.