Mediterranean Crownvetch

Perennial, Shrubs, Stems woody below, or from woody crown or caudex, Taproot present, Nodules present, Stems or branches arching, spreading or decumbent, Stems less than 1 m tall, Stems solid, Stems or young twigs glabrous or sparsely glabrate, Leaves alternate, Leaves petiolate, Stipules inconspicuous, absent, or caducous, Stipules membranous or chartaceous, Stipules free, Leaves compound, Leaves even pinnate, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leaflets opposite, Leaflets 4, Leaflets 5-9, Leaflets 10-many, Leaves glabrous or nearly so, Flowers in axillary clusters or few-floweredracemes, 2-6 flowers, Inflorescences globose heads, capitate or subcapitate, Inflorescence axillary, Bracts very small, absent or caducous, Flowers zygomorphic, Calyx 5-lobed, Calyx 2-lipped or 2-lobed, Calyx glabrous, Petals separate, Corolla papilionaceous, Petals clawed, Petals orange or yellow, Banner petal suborbicular, broadly rounded, Ba nner petal auriculate, Wing petals narrow, oblanceolate to oblong, Wing petals auriculate, Wing tips obtuse or rounded, Stamens 9-10, Stamens diadelphous, 9 united, 1 free, Filaments glabrous, Style terete, Style sharply bent, Fruit a loment, jointed, separating into articles, Fruit unilocular, Fruit indehiscent, Fruit elongate, straight, Fruit strongly curved, falcate, bent, or lunate, Fruit spirally coiled or contorted, Fruit exserted from calyx, Fruit glabrous or glabrate, Fruit 3-10 seeded, Seeds ovoid to rounded in outline, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black.

Coronilla valentina, the shrubby scorpion-vetch, scorpion vetch or bastard senna, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Coronilla of the legume family Fabaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin, and introduced into Kenya and the United States. It is an evergreen shrub growing to 80 cm (31 in) tall and wide, with pea-like foliage and fragrant, brilliant yellow flowers in spring and summer, followed by slender pods. Linnaeus observed that the flowers, remarkably fragrant in the daytime, are almost scentless at night.

In cultivation it is fairly hardy, but prefers Mediterranean conditions, with shelter and warm sunshine. The subspecies C. valentina subsp. glauca (syn. C. glauca) and its cultivar 'Citrina' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2017).