Family: Fabaceae
High Risk Traits:
- Environmentally versatile
- Widely naturalized
- A weed of forestry plantations
- An environmental weed
- Related Genista species have become invasive
- Reputedly toxic to cattle
- May increases fire hazard with flammable biomass
- Shade-tolerant
- Tolerates many soil types
- Can from dense monocultures that exclude other vegetation
- Limited self-compatibility
- Accidentally and intentionally dispersed by seeds
- Prolific seed production
- Forms a persistent seed bank
- Resprouts after damage from cutting or fire
Low Risk Traits:
- May be limited to higher, cooler elevations in tropical island ecosystems
- Unarmed (no spines, thorns or burrs)
- Palatable to goats
- Does not spread vegetatively
- Valued as an ornamental in some locations
- Herbicides provide effective control under certain circumstances