This is an introduced shrub species from the pea family that is native to China, Siberia, and Mongolia. It is now widespread in some parts of Canda and the US (US--AK, CA, CO, IA, ID, IL, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MT, ND, NE, NM, OR, SD, UT, WA, WI, WY; CANADA--AB, BC, MB, NB, NT, ON, QC, SK, YT) (
USDA 2010), and is commonly grown as an ornamental and landscape plant. It was introduced to the Great Plains area for erosion control and as a hedgerow species, but has invaded the understorey of deciduous forests in the region where it competes with native species such as beaked hazelnut (
Corylus cornuta) (Henderson and Chapman 2006). This is a large spiny shrub which reaches height of 12 feet to 15 feet. It has clusters of yellow flowers.
