Broom
French Broom (Genista monspessulana)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Faboideae
Tribe:	Genisteae
Genera [3][4]
Adenocarpus DC. Anarthrophyllum Benth. Argyrocytisus (Maire) Frodin & Heywood ex Raynaud Argyrolobium Eckl. & Zeyh. Calicotome Link[1] Chamaecytisus Link Cytisophyllum O. Lang Cytisus Desf. Dichilus DC. Echinospartum (Spach) Fourr.[2] Erinacea Adans. Genista L. Gonocytisus Spach Hesperolaburnum Maire Laburnum Fabr. Lupinus L. Melolobium Eckl. & Zeyh. Petteria C. Presl Podocytisus Boiss. & Heldr. Polhillia C. H. Stirt. Retama Raf.[2] Sellocharis Taub. Spartium L. Stauracanthus Link[2] Ulex L.[2]
Synonyms
Cytiseae

Brooms are a group of evergreen, semi-evergreen, and deciduous shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the legume family Fabaceae, mainly in the three genera Chamaecytisus, Cytisus and Genista, but also in many other small genera (see box, right). All genera in this group are from the tribe Genisteae. These genera are all closely related and share similar characteristics of dense, slender green stems and very small leaves, which are adaptations to dry growing conditions. Most of the species have yellow flowers, but a few have white, orange, red, pink or purple flowers.

Two other close relatives are Ulex (gorse) and Laburnum (laburnum), but these differ more strongly in appearance from the brooms. Some botanists include Podocytisus caramanicus in the genus Laburnum.

All the brooms and their relatives (including Laburnum and Ulex) are natives of Europe, north Africa and southwest Asia, with the greatest diversity in the Mediterranean region. Many brooms (though not all) are fire-climax species, adapted to regular stand-replacing fires which kill the above-ground parts of the plants, but create conditions for regrowth from the roots and also for germination of stored seeds in the soil.

Species of broom[link]

The most widely familiar is common broom (Cytisus scoparius, syn. Sarothamnus scoparius), a native of northwestern Europe, where it is found in sunny sites, usually on dry, sandy soils. Like most brooms, it has apparently leafless stems that in spring and summer are covered in profuse golden-yellow flowers. In late summer, its peapod-like seed capsules burst open, often with an audible pop, spreading seed from the parent plant. It makes a shrub about 1–3m tall, rarely to 4 m. It is also the hardiest broom, tolerating temperatures down to about -25°C.

The largest species of broom is Mount Etna broom (Genista aetnensis), which can make a small tree to 10 m tall; by contrast, some other species, e.g. dyer's broom Genista tinctoria, are low sub-shrubs, barely woody at all.

Broom is used as a food source by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species – see list of Lepidoptera that feed on brooms.

Cultivation[link]

Cytisus scoparius, Common Broom. 1. Two-lipped calyx. 2. Broadly ovate vexillum or standard. 3. One of the alae or wings of the corolla. 4. Carina or keel. 5. Monadelphous stamens. 6. Hairy ovary with the long style, thickened upwards, and spirally curved. 7. Legume or pod.

Brooms tolerate (and often thrive best in) poor soils and growing conditions. In cultivation they need little care, though they need good drainage and perform poorly on wet soils.

They are widely used as ornamental landscape plants and also for wasteland reclamation (e.g. mine tailings) and sand dune stabilising.

Tagasaste (Chamaecytisus proliferus syn. C. palmensis), a Canary Islands native, is widely grown as sheep fodder.

Species of broom popular in horticulture are purple broom (Chamaecytisus purpureus; purple flowers), Atlas broom (or Moroccan broom) (Argyrocytisus battandieri, syn. Cytisus battandieri, with silvery foliage), dwarf broom (Cytisus procumbens), Provence broom (Cytisus purgans) and Spanish broom (Spartium junceum).

Many of the most popular brooms in gardens are hybrids, notably Kew broom (Cytisus × kewensis, hybrid between C. ardoinii and C. multiflorus) and Warminster broom (Cytisus × praecox, hybrid between C. purgans and C. multiflorus).

Invasive species[link]

In some areas of North America, common broom, introduced as an ornamental plant, has become naturalised and an invasive weed due to its aggressive seed dispersal; it has proved very difficult to eradicate. Similarly, it is a major problem species in the cooler and wetter areas of southern Australia and New Zealand. Biological control for broom in New Zealand has been investigated since the mid 1980s. On the west coast of the United States, French broom (Genista monspessulana), Mediterranean broom (Genista linifolia) and Spanish broom (Spartium junceum) are also considered noxious invasives, as they are quickly crowding out native vegetation, and grow most prolifically in the least accessible areas.

Historical uses[link]

The Plantagenet kings used common broom (known as "planta genista" in Latin) as an emblem and took their name from it. It was originally the emblem of Geoffrey of Anjou, father of Henry II of England. Wild broom is still common in dry habitats around Anjou, France.

Charles V and his son Charles VI used the pod of the broom plant (broom-cod, or "cosse de geneste") as an emblem for livery collars and badges.^[5]

Genista tinctoria (dyer's broom, also known as dyer's greenweed or dyer's greenwood), provides a useful yellow dye and was grown commercially for this purpose in parts of Britain into the early 19th century. Woollen cloth, mordanted with alum, was dyed yellow with dyer's greenweed, then dipped into a vat of blue dye (woad or, later, indigo) to produce the once-famous "Kendal Green" (largely superseded by the brighter "Saxon Green" in the 1770s). Kendal green is a local common name for the plant.

The flower buds and flowers of Cytisus scoparius have been used as a salad ingredient, raw or pickled, and were a popular ingredient for salmagundi or "grand sallet" during the 17th and 18th century. There are now concerns about the toxicity of broom, with potential effects on the heart and problems during pregnancy.^[6]

Folklore and myth[link]

In Welsh mythology, Blodeuwedd is the name of a woman made from the flowers of broom, meadowsweet and the oak by Math fab Mathonwy and Gwydion to be the wife of Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Her story is part of the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, the tale of Math son of Mathonwy.

A traditional rhyme from Sussex says: "Sweep the house with blossed broom in May/sweep the head of the household away." Despite this, it was also common to include a decorated bundle of broom at weddings. Ashes of broom were used to treat dropsy, while its strong smell was said to be able to tame wild horses and dogs.

Gallery[link]

Common broom (Cytisus scoparius).   Genista hirsuta in flower.   Dyer's broom (Genista tinctoria).   French broom (Genista monspessulana) in flower.   Common broom (Cytisus scoparius).   Broom, an invasive plant in Wellington, New Zealand.   Cytisus oromediterraneus

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Mabey, Richard Flora Britannica, Sinclair-Stevenson, London, 1996, ISBN 1-85619-377-2
• Royal Horticultural Society's plant database (Accessed 20:53, 29 October 2006 (UTC))

A broom is a cleaning tool consisting of stiff fibers attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a variety of brush with a long handle. It is commonly used in combination with a dustpan.

Broom stall

An old form of broom was the besom, which was made simply of twigs tied to a handle, and was relatively inefficient as a cleaning implement for it commonly caused more of a mess than it cleaned up causing it to be somewhat counter-productive. Flat brooms, made of broom corn,^[1] were invented by Shakers in the 19th century.^[2] Today, they are also commonly made with synthetic bristles. Another common type is the push/pull broom, consisting of a wide brush with short bristles, to which a broomstick is attached at an angle in the center of the brush.

In the context of witchcraft, broomstick is likely to refer to the broom as a whole. A smaller whisk broom or brush is sometimes called a duster.

Other uses for brooms[link]

• In baseball, when the home team is close to accomplishing a sweep (having won the first two games of a three-game series or first three games of a four-game series), some fans will bring brooms to the ballpark and brandish them as a way of taunting the visiting team. (Examples: Arkansas vs LSU- 2011; Red Sox v. Yankees—May 13–15, 2011 and June 7–9, 2011)

• During World War II, American submarine crews would hoist a broom onto their boat's fore-truck when returning to port to indicate that they had "swept" the seas clean of enemy shipping.^[3] The tradition has been devalued in recent years by submarine crews who fly a broom simply when returning from their boat's shake-down cruise. This tradition no doubt stems from the action of the Dutch admiral Maarten Tromp who tied a broom to his main mast after defeating the British admiral Robert Blake at the Battle of Dungeness in 1652. This has often been interpreted as a message that he would sweep the British from the seas. This story remains unsubstantiated,^[4] but may have its origin in the tradition of hoisting a broom as a sign that a ship was for sale, which seems more likely as Tromp had captured two of Blake's ships in the battle.^[5] It is also sometimes said that the story of Tromp hoisting a broom was an embellishment on an earlier English joke that Tromp displayed a broom because his ships were useless against the English and he wished to be rid of them. If true, this could be taken as confirmation of the tradition.

Brooms and witchcraft[link]

Brooms have long been connected with witchcraft, almost universally portrayed as medieval-style round brooms and associated with female witches. Despite the association with women, in 1453, the first known case of claiming to have flown on a broomstick is recorded, confessed by the male witch Guillaume Edelin.^[6] There are, however, prior records of witches flying on sticks or similar objects, usually that had been first greased with a magical flying ointment.

Anecdotally, the broom served another purpose during periods of persecution. Witches and other magic practitioners would disguise their wands as broom sticks to avoid suspicion. It is also a tradition that brooms have been used by some as receptacles to harbor temporarily a particular spirit.

Today the broom is included in lists of ritual tools in many pagan guide books, where it is often referred to as a besom. A broom is sometimes laid at the opening of some covens' rossets. Representing the Element of Air, brooms are utilized in the purification of areas. They are used to sweep ritual circles clean of negative energy. It is often employed by those allergic to incense, and during rituals practiced in smoke-free areas. It is also a technique associated with "kitchen witches" who use what's on hand to work spells. As a tool of purification, decorative brooms are sometimes hung near doors to clean those entering a house.

Brooms in wider culture[link]

In literature and poetry[link]

• Poets use the broom in metaphor making. In one of Emily Dickinson's poems Mother Nature, Nature ". . .sweeps with many colored brooms, and leaves the shreds behind. . ."
• In many works of fiction, especially fairy tales, broomsticks are depicted as a means of air transport for witches, with the brush usually facing the posterior direction.
• The Harry Potter book series contains magic flying brooms, especially in the context of Quidditch, a fictional sport portrayed in the series. Harry Potter uses the Nimbus 2000, then a Firebolt, to play Quidditch.
• In the Broadway musical Wicked, the protagonist of the story, Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, enchants a broomstick at the end of act one during the song "Defying Gravity". At the climax of the number, Elphaba dramatically rises above the stage with the broom in hand.
• In the movie Fantasia, Mickey Mouse, playing The Sorcerer's Apprentice, brings a broom to life to do his chore of filling a well full of water. The broom overdoes its job and when chopped into pieces, each splinter becomes a new broom that flood the room until Yen Sid stops them. This story comes from a poem by Goethe called "Der Zauberlehrling" ("The Sorcerer's Apprentice"). The Disney brooms have had recurring cameos in Disney media, mostly portrayed as janitors, albeit not out of control or causing chaos such as in the original appearance.
• A fictional spaceman's tool and movement aid called a "broomstick" occurs in Islands in the Sky and 2010: Odyssey Two by Arthur C. Clarke.^[7]

In religious and cultural tradition[link]

A common broom used in Hainan Province, China

• An African American wedding tradition incorporates the use of the broom. The custom is called "jumping the broom". During the years of slavery in the United States, some slave owners would not let their slaves marry in a church ceremony. Instead a broom was placed across a doorway. The bride and groom jumped over it into their new life as a married couple. Today the custom incorporates a broom decorated to the bride's specifications, and it becomes a wedding keepsake.
• In the Bible, Luke 15:8 "The Parable of the Lost Coin", the broom is mentioned: "Suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?"
• The Métis people of Canada have broom dancing in their cultural heritage. There are broom dancing exhibitions where people show off their broom dancing skills. The lively broom dance involves fast footwork and jumping.
• Broom can also refer to an object of worship in the Nagroom religion.
• In Jainism, monks and nuns have a little broom with them, in order to gently brush aside ants and small animals, to avoid crushing them. This is an act of non-violence to the small animals.^[8]

See also[link]

• Curling broom
• Mop
• Squeegee

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Broom

• Dundes, A. (1996) "Jumping the Broom": On the origin and meaning of an African American Wedding Custom. The Journal of American Folklore. 109 (433) p. 324-329. Retrieved on May 19, 2007 from the Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Library at http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.jhu.edu
• Gabriel Dumont Institute of Native Studies and Applied Research. (2001).
• from The Virtual Museum of Metis History and Culture Broom Dance, Metisfest 2001. Retrieved on May 18, 2007.