Genista vs. Cytisus — What's the Difference?

Genista is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae, native to open habitats such as moorland and pasture in Europe and western Asia. They include species commonly called broom, though the term may also refer to other genera, including Cytisus and Chamaecytisus.

Cytisus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, native to open sites (typically scrub and heathland) in Europe, western Asia and North Africa. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, and is one of several genera in the tribe Genisteae which are commonly called brooms.

(botany) Any member of the flowering plant genus Genista.

Any flowering plant in the genus Cytisus.

A genus of plants including the common broom of Western Europe.

Large genus of stiff or spiny evergreen or deciduous Old World shrubs: broom

Chiefly deciduous shrubs or small trees of Mediterranean area and western Asia: broom