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Family Leguminosae
Laburnum anagyroides
Although the Laburnums of our parks and gardens
have all come from seed, and themselves produce
an abundance of it, we do not meet with wayside
“escapees” as we might expect to,
having regard to the habit of the tree, and the
fact that it is comparatively indifferent respecting
character of soil. It has been stated that rabbits
are exceedingly fond of the bark, and it may well
be that they destroy any young trees that are
unprotected.
The tree produces such a glorification of many
an ordinary suburban road, when its flowering
time comes round, that it would be interesting
to note its effect as a common object of the hillside
and the woodland, against a background furnished
by our more sober native trees.
The Laburnum is at home in the mountain forests
of Central and Southern Europe, but there is no
record of its introduction to Britain. We do know,
however, that it has been with us for considerably
more than four hundred years, as it was referred
to in a publication of 1597.
It belongs to the great Pea and Bean family (Leguminosae),
and is very closely related to the Common Broom,
whose solitary flowers those of the Laburnum’s
drooping racemes nearly resemble.
Ordinarily it is only a low tree about twenty
feet in height, but in favourable situations it
may attain to thirty feet or more. Some of the
larger Laburnums, however, are of a distinct species
(L. alpinum).
The pale round branches are clothed with leaves
that are divided into three oval lance-shaped
leaflets, covered on the underside with silvery
down. Both leaves and golden flowers appear simultaneously
in May, but from the fact that the flowers are
gathered into numerous long pendulous racemes,
their blaze of colour makes the leaves almost
invisible.
The flowers are succeeded by long downy pods,
like those of the Bean and Pea, containing many
seeds, which are of a dangerously violent emetic
character when introduced to the human stomach.
The dark wood is of a coarse grain; but, in spite
of this, hard and enduring, and taking a good
polish. It is chiefly used by musical instrument
makers, wood turners, and cabinet-makers.
Common local names are Golden Chain, suggested
by the strings of flowers, and Bean-trefoil and
Pea-tree, having reference to the leaves and seed-pods
respectively.
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