Form: shrub — perennial
Status: present in WA
Gorse has been prioritised at a national level as a Weed of National Significance (WoNS).
Appearance
An erect much branched, intensely prickly shrub, to four metres high, reproducing by seed.
Stems: longitudinally ridged, hairy, with numerous spines to five centimetres long.
Leaves: dark green, narrow and spine-like one to three centimetres long, numerous, hairy with no leaf stalk; spaced evenly along the branches.
Flowers: bright yellow pea flowers, 2-2.5 centimetres long, fragrant, on short stalks, produced in axil of leaves or in terminal clusters.
Fruit: dark coloured, more or less egg shaped pod, one to two centimetres long, densely hairy, containing two to six seeds.
Seed: green to brown, about three millimetres long, somewhat triangular shaped smooth and shiny. Hard coated, and long-lived in soil.
Online weed identification training
Login or set up a new account on DPIRDs online training site to access:
- a training course on how to identify gorse and report it.
- training material that you can use to teach community groups how to identify gorse.
Agricultural and economic impact
Gorse invades pastures, roadsides and other disturbed areas, forming dense impenetrable thickets about two metres high and creating a fire hazard. Gorse can provide shelter for pests such as rabbits.
Declared pest category
The Western Australian Organism List (WAOL) contains information on the area(s) in which this pest is declared and the control and keeping categories to which it has been assigned in Western Australia (WA). Search for gorse in the WAOL using the scientific name Ulex europaeus.
Requirements for land owners/occupiers and other persons
Requirements for land owners/occupiers and other persons if this pest is found can be sourced through the declared plant requirements link.
Search > detect > report
MyPestGuide™ Reporter | Pest and Disease Information Service (PaDIS) |
Detectability: medium difficulty to find. Gorse is a distinctive, dark green, densely spiny plant that can produce numerous bright yellow pea flowers. It is sometimes confused with native Jacksonia species.
Who is likely to find it: biosecurity groups, local governments, NRM groups, landholders and others in southern parts of the South West Land Division, particularly members of the Gorse Network.
When to find it: gorse is a perennial, so plants can be found all year round, but gorse is most conspicuous when flowering. Gorse flowers abundantly in spring and late summer-autumn.
Where to find it: gorse is most likely to be found in and around the Albany area.
Control method
Control methods for this declared plant can be found through the gorse control and the gorse: what you should know pages.
Management calendar
Further information
Further information on gorse can be found through the gorse: what you should know page.