IDENTIFICATION
Provincial Noxious. Perennial shrub.
Gorse is a spiny evergreen shrub with bright yellow pea-like flowers.
It has small leaves which terminate in rigid, grooved spines when mature.
Shrubs grow 1-3 m tall, usually with a single, densely branched, upright
stem.
DAMAGE
Gorse competes with native vegetation, reduces access for recreation,
increases fire hazard, and has the potential to impair forest regeneration
in logged areas. It has been found to reduce pasture growth on Vancouver
Island.
HABITAT
In British Columbia, gorse grows on dry, open, sandy or rocky clearings,
coastal bluffs, logged areas, and roadsides. It is most common on southern
Vancouver Island near Victoria, but also occurs on a number of Gulf Islands,
in West Vancouver, and at Skidegate on the Queen Charlotte Islands.
SPREAD
Gorse grows rapidly for the first 15 years, and can live up to
45 years. The maturing seed pods explode and disperse the seeds which
ants, animals, birds, and machinery can spread. Water is a common vehicle
for dispersal in BC, since many populations grow near the sea.
