Gorse (Ulex) also known as furze or whin is a genus of plants of the family Leguminosae, native to western Europe. They are low shrubby plants, the common gorse (Ulex europicus) having a stem generally 80 cm to one metre high, much branched and most of the leaves converted into spines. The flowers are solitary and yellow. The fruits are hairy pods. The common gorse is often very abundant in barren, heathy, sandy, and gravelly soils throughout the west of Europe. It often covers exclusively large tracts of country, and makes a splendid appearance when in flower. It was formerly used for fuel, and sometimes the tops of the branches were used (especially the young tops) as fodder for horses and cattle, after having been beaten or bruised to soften the prickles. The dwarf-furze (Ulex nanus) is found in many parts of the British Isles. Research Gorse
Ulex is a small genus of hardy, spiny spring shrubs belonging to the family Leguminosae. They are natives of western Europe and north-west Africa and bear yellow flowers either solitary or showily racemose. As seedlings they have a few normal leaves divided into three leaflets; but later leaves are all metamorphosed into needle-pointed spines. The larger spines are abortive shoots, as is shown by many of them bearing flowers. A common British variety is the Gorse. Research Ulex
Ulexite or hayesine is an evaporate mineral and an ore of boron. It is formed during the evaporation of lake basins and occurs in white rounded crystalline masses. It is a hydrous borate of lime and soda and has a relative hardness of 2. Ulexite was named in honour of George Ulex, the German chemist who in 1850 first correctly analysed the mineral. One transparent variety of ulexite exhibits the rare property of transmitting light unaltered from one end of its crystals to the other. Ulexite is utilized as a source of boracic acid, and for glass and pottery manufacture. Research Ulexite
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Abbreviations
Research Gorse
