Writer Michelle Ann Young has been writing about flora & fauna in the Regency world in her informative blog, Regency Ramble. If you wonder what Jane Austen’s natural world was like during her countryside rambles, click here to read Ms. Young’s posts on the subject.
“Broom flowers in this month.” I often get gorse and broom confused. They both sport yellow flowers, but gorse if very prickly and flowers earlier in the spring. Broom is a much more gentle plant. It was used in the old days as an emblem or a cockade, worn on a lapel or a hat.
If I may add my personal observation, gorse and broom are considered pest plants today. I wonder if they were in Jane Austen’s time?
Jane Austen's World 
Thank you for explaining the difference. I had never seen either plant until I went to Ireland one spring. No one told me that island was green and YELLOW! Gorse was everywhere. I thought it quite beautiful. It seemed to serve almost like a hedge along some roads and fields, but I can see how it may become a nuisance, especially to farmers.