Name:
Native Broome
Botanical name:
Viminaria juncea
Family:
Fabaceae
Distribution and Habitat
Native Broom is a unique species, being the only Viminaria known, growing wild only in Australia. It occurs in moist temperate parts of most States; not in Northern Territory nor in areas as dry as the Australian Capital Territory. In swamps it can be extensive, a tall loose shrub where crowded.
It grows in swamps or areas where the water table is high, generally fresh or brackish in nature. It is a dominant tree in swamp forests, often growing in pure stands or with other trees.
Description
It can be kept as a shrub amenable to trimming, but is most distinctive kept to a single trunk when it reaches 6m high. As a small tree, it is upright and the slender trunk has a dark fibrous bark. It contrasts with the crown of soft green tints, a waving mass of slender branches which are bright grassy green while young. They are long, in sprays, very smooth, extremely pliant and stands up well to storms.
As a shrub, it resembles the introduced Broom (hence the common name), with smaller flowers, but is highly superior.
Ordinary leaves are absent, except in seedlings and occasionally on young stems, and the tree is generally thought of as leafless. The leaves are in fact minute scales and the mass of growth consists of phyllodes, as in some Acacias.
In Viminaria juncea the phyllodes are 25 mm long, stringy, smooth and flexible, a fresh green and always appear healthy. Very rapid, clean growth in almost any soil is one great advantage of the species.
In spring the branches become thickly lined with small, lemon-yellow pea flowers 1 cm long, with a light clover-scent detectable from a large mass of plants. The season can last till mid-December if cool and moist.
Seed sets in plenty, one small bean per pod, and this is an easy means of propagation.
Uses
Attracts native fauna.
Where to see Native Broom in Centennial Parklands.
In Centennial Park, there are a number of planted specimens, but naturally occurring plants may be found on the edge of the Lachlan Swamp, and on the bridge across the stream below the Mission Fields.