Curtis Botanical – Plate 8479 – Black Broom

Original antique black-and-white botanical print from Curtis's Botanical Magazine — Plate 8479.

Plant: Cytisus Nigricans (Black Broom). Native to: Central & Eastern Europe.

The bright yellow flowers turn black when dried — pressed specimens look entirely unlike the living plant. The House of Plantagenet, the English royal dynasty, took its name from this plant family. A shrub with considerably more history than its appearance suggests.

Printed in London. Each print is an original page removed from a bound volume of Curtis's Botanical Magazine, the world's oldest continuously published botanical journal (founded 1787). Uncolored plate. Sold individually. Minor age-related toning consistent with 19th-century paper.

This plate originated with the Royal Horticultural Society and passed through Wheldon & Wesley, one of the great natural history dealers of the 20th century. We came into the archive by accident and have spent the time since trying to share it as widely as we can.