Download The Common laburnum is a small deciduous tree 5 to 7 meters tall

The Common laburnum is a small deciduous tree
5 to 7 meters tall, with a smooth bark, dark green
spreading branches and pendulous pubescent twigs
(hair is longer and patent in Laburnum alpinum
and appressed in Laburnum anagyroides). Leaves
(composed of three leaflets) have a long petiole.
Flowers are golden yellow, very fragrant, densely
packed in long pendulous racemes (up to 25 cm long)
and bloom typically in May (racemes have less flowers
in Laburnum alpinum plants). Fruits are legumes
with numerous black seeds that contain cytisine (an
alkaloide) which make them extremely poisonous
(mature legumes of Laburnum alpinum are winged,
unlike the ones of Laburnum anagyroides).
Common laburnum is a light-loving plant (it dislikes the
shade of thick woods) and forms small stands on the
edge of copses. It grows and flowers in temperate and
moderately damp habitats, especially in calcareous
soils and is often associated with forests of hop
hornbeam and beech. Farmers fight it because it is
highly toxic, also for animals.
Its yellow-brown wood is hard and heavy, great
for making posts, for woodturning and to use as
fuel. In the past it was considered excellent for the
construction of arches. Common laburnum is cultivated
for ornamental purposes. It is used advantageously to
reinforce unstable slopes along mountain roads and
for environmental restoration.