Gorse is a thorny flowering evergreen plant native to Western Europe and Northwest Africa. The bright yellow flowers of gorse are closely associated with Britain, where the plant grows wild in many locations. In some regions of the world, gorse is treated as an invasive species, since the plant can rapidly take over under the right conditions. However, gorse does have some valuable uses, ranging from land reclamation to fencing and animal fodder.

All plants in the genus Ulex are considered gorse, although Common Gorse or Ulex europaeus is the species with which many people are most familiar. The plant is in the pea family, and closely related to the brooms. Gorse produces bright yellow pea-like flowers year round, with black seed pods. The plant is extremely thorny, and it will rapidly spread in almost any growing conditions; gorse actually prefers poor soil.

The name “gorse” is taken from Old English; people may also know the plant as furze or whin. The yellow flowers bloom year round, and smell like coconut or bananas in warm weather. Traditionally, gorse has been thought of as an inauspicious plant inside the home, although in some parts of the world, people hang gorse over the door for good luck. The old saying “when the gorse isn't blooming, kissing's out of fashion” is a reference to the year-round blooming habit of the plant.

When well managed, gorse can be a useful plant. Many Britons used it historically for animal fodder, as the new growth is perfectly edible for many animals and gorse provides habitat to many small mammals and birds. Gorse can also make excellent boundary fencing, especially with animals around to keep the plant trimmed so that it does not get out of control. People have also used gorse to secure exposed topsoil; if the plant is allowed to grow naturally, native species can actually choke it out in some cases, once they are well established. Gorse is also an excellent nitrogen fixer, so it is used to restore damaged soil.

However, gorse can take over, as it has done in some regions where the plant was imported as an ornamental. Gorse thrives after fire, which makes burning gorse fields rather counterproductive; in order to eradicate gorse, the plant has to be ripped out of the ground, roots and all. In some areas, gorse will choke out native species which are unable to gain a foothold. For this reason, many communities have tried to heavily manage gorse; many of these campaigns are unsuccessful because these communities do not approach the problem from the right direction.