Common Laburnum

Laburnum anagyroides

The common Laburnum tree is native in more southerly parts of Europe and is usually referred to by its botanical name and is less well known nowadays as the Golden Chain tree; so called because of the appearance of the flowers.

Laburnum seldom grows more than 6m tall and typically has branches which ascend more than spread but this overall shape can differ in some of the hybrids. The bark is smooth and when young has a greenish yellow colour, becoming brown with age. Each leaf has three distinctly separate leaflets, a form called trifoliate, up to 4cm long. The small bright and densely growing yellow flowers hang down from the branches in strings, called racemes, up to 20cm long and last from May into June.

Seeds form in pods, rather like peapods and since they are toxic some people fear that they may be eaten in mistake for peas. Some species of caterpillar feed off Laburnum leaves and so gain a toxic immunity from predators.

Laburnum is classed as a legume as it produces seeds in pods and the roots are host to a kind of bacteria that is able to take nitrogen from the soil and ‘fix’ it in the plant.

Situation
At this time of year Laburnum trees are easy to spot by the masses of bright yellow hanging flowers seen in many roadside gardens and parks throughout the Forest. Laburnum branches can be trained to form arches, pergolas or tunnel frameworks which are spectacular when in flower. It is likely that many of the trees found in gardens are a hybrid between the common and alpine (L. alpinum) species of Laburnum

Season/Life cycle

Uses
The heart-wood is hard and dark brown and the sapwood is yellow; both are used to make decorative woodwork.