Identify by feature
Shrub with yellow flowers in spring: which one is it?
A shrub that flowers yellow early in the year is usually a forsythia, cornelian cherry, hazel (yellow catkins) or Oregon grape; on sandy soil in May also broom and gorse.
16 species with this feature
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Cornelian cherry Cornus mas
Shrub
Little clusters of yellow flowers on the bare branches, February–March.
Native
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Broom Cytisus scoparius
Shrub
Golden-yellow pea flowers (2 cm) in May–June, all along the twigs.
NativePoisonous
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Gorse Ulex europaeus
Shrub
Golden-yellow pea flowers with a coconut scent, mainly in March–May, but a few almost all year round.
NativePoisonous
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Hazel Corylus avellana
Shrub
Yellow, hanging male catkins as early as January–February; tiny red stigmas of the female flowers.
Native
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Goat willow Salix caprea
Broadleaf tree
Fat, silvery catkins in March; on male trees they turn golden yellow.
Native
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Japanese kerria Kerria japonica
Shrub
Golden-yellow flowers in April–May; in ‘Pleniflora’ fully double, like little pompoms.
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Witch hazel Hamamelis
Shrub
Flowers with four ribbon-like, crinkled petals, yellow, orange or red, from December to March on bare branches; fragrant.
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Winter jasmine Jasminum nudiflorum
Climber
Bright yellow flowers (2–3 cm) with 5–6 lobes, single in the leaf axils on the bare twigs, November–March; unscented.
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Common laburnum Laburnum anagyroides
Broadleaf tree
Hanging clusters 10–30 cm long of golden-yellow pea flowers, in May–June.
Poisonous
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Winter hazel Corylopsis
Shrub
Hanging clusters (2–5 cm) of pale yellow, bell-shaped, softly scented flowers, in March–April before the leaves.
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Barberry Berberis vulgaris
Shrub
Hanging clusters of small, scented yellow flowers in May; the stamens snap inwards when an insect touches them.
Native
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Wintersweet Chimonanthus praecox
Shrub
Hanging, cup-shaped flowers (2–3 cm) with waxy, translucent yellow outer and purplish-brown inner tepals, from December to February; very strongly scented.
Poisonous
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Norway maple Acer platanoides
Broadleaf tree
Yellow-green flower clusters before the leaves open (April).
Native
Tip: Forsythia and cornelian cherry both flower on bare twigs: forsythia with little bells, the cornelian cherry with small balls of tiny flowers. Long, hanging yellow chains on a small tree are laburnum, which is poisonous.