Use of de with plural nouns and adjectives

Question

"de branches cassées" is used rather than "des branches cassées".  The lesson states that "de" is correct when the adjective is before the noun, however I have noted recently on several occasions in exercises "de" has been used when the adjective is after the noun.  Am I missing something?

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Ian,
Here "de" is part of the expression "être jonché de [quelque chose]".

Le sol est jonché de branches = The ground is strewn with branches
Le sol est jonché de branches cassées = Le ground was strewn with broken branches

Take a look here: 
https://french.kwiziq.com/questions/view/de-ou-des
Also, you could have "des" (de  + les) if the narrator were to mention something very specific about them:
Le sol est jonché des branches cassées que j'avais empilées plus tôt = The ground is strewn with the broken branches which I had stacked up earlier.
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Answer

There may be various reasons why de was used. Can you provide examples?