In spring it bears many racemes, 30 cm (12 in) long, of fragrant, soft yellow, pea-like flowers.

The shrub is indigenous to California, US,[1][3] where it is widely distributed among coastal sage scrub and sand dunes.

It is thought to be native from Point Reyes National Seashore south to San Luis Obispo County.

It is an introduced species in western Europe, Australia (a potential noxious weed), New Zealand, the Turkish Anatolian Aegean Region, and southern South America including the Falkland Islands.

Where it has been introduced, it changes the chemistry of the soil, and therefore allows other exotics to establish themselves, to the detriment of native plants adapted to low nitrogen levels.