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{{For|the suburb of Melbourne|Laburnum, Victoria}}
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Laburnum''
| image = Laburnum_anagyroides2.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Common Laburnum - flowers
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Fabales]]
| familia = [[Fabaceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Faboideae]]
| tribus = [[Genisteae]]
| genus = '''''Laburnum'''''
| genus_authority = [[Philipp Conrad Fabricius|Fabr.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
''Laburnum anagyroides''<br/>
''Laburnum alpinum''
}}
'''''Laburnum''''' is a genus of two species of small [[tree]]s in the subfamily [[Faboideae]] of the pea family [[Fabaceae]], ''Laburnum anagyroides'' ('''Common Laburnum''') and ''L. alpinum'' ('''Alpine Laburnum'''). They are native to the mountains of southern [[Europe]] from [[France]] to the [[Balkan Peninsula]]. Some botanists include a third species, ''Laburnum caramanicum'', but this native of southeast Europe and [[Asia Minor]] is usually treated in a distinct genus ''Podocytisus'', more closely allied to the [[broom (shrub)|brooms]].
[[Image:Laburnum anagyroides flowering.jpg|thumb|left|Laburnum tree in full flower.]]
They have yellow pea-[[flower]]s in pendulous [[raceme]]s 10-30 cm (4-12 in) long in spring, which makes them very popular garden trees. In ''L. anagyroides'' the racemes are 10-20 cm (4-8 in) long, with densely packed flowers; in ''L. alpinum'' the racemes are 20-30 cm (8-12 in) long, but with the flowers sparsely along the raceme.
The leaves are trifoliate, somewhat like a [[clover]], the leaflets typically 2-3 cm (¾-1¼ in) long in ''L. anagyroides'' and 4-5 cm (1½-2 in) long in ''L. alpinum''.
Most garden specimens are of the hybrid between the two species, ''Laburnum x watereri'' ('''Voss's Laburnum'''), which combines the longer racemes of ''L. alpinum'' with the denser flowers of ''L. anagyroides''; it also has the benefit of low seed production (Laburnum seed toxicity is a common cause of poisoning in young children, who mistake the seeds for [[pea]]s).
The yellow flowers are responsible for the old poetic name 'golden chain tree' (also spelled golden chaintree or goldenchain tree).
All parts of the plant are [[poison]]ous and can be lethal if consumed in excess. Symptoms of Laburnum poisoning may include intense sleepiness, vomiting, convulsive movements, coma, slight frothing at the mouth and unequally dilated pupils. In some cases, diarrhea is very severe and at times the convulsions are markedly [[tetanic]].
Despite the plant's toxicity, it is used as a food plant by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species including [[Buff-tip]].
==References and external links==
*[http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Laburnum&SPECIES_XREF=&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= Flora Europaea: ''Laburnum'']
*[http://www.ildis.org/ ILDIS Legume Database]
*[http://www.haworth-village.org.uk/nature/time-lapse/time-lapse.asp?pic=16 time lapse video] of a year in the life of a laburnum tree.
*[http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/l/labrun02.html Grieve, 'A Modern Herbal' (1931)]
{{Commons|Laburnum x watereri}}
{{tree-stub}}
[[Category:Faboideae]]
[[Category:Poisonous plants]]
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Laburnum''
| image = Laburnum_anagyroides2.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Common Laburnum - flowers
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Fabales]]
| familia = [[Fabaceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Faboideae]]
| tribus = [[Genisteae]]
| genus = '''''Laburnum'''''
| genus_authority = [[Philipp Conrad Fabricius|Fabr.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
''Laburnum anagyroides''<br/>
''Laburnum alpinum''
}}
'''''Laburnum''''' is a genus of two species of small [[tree]]s in the subfamily [[Faboideae]] of the pea family [[Fabaceae]], ''Laburnum anagyroides'' ('''Common Laburnum''') and ''L. alpinum'' ('''Alpine Laburnum'''). They are native to the mountains of southern [[Europe]] from [[France]] to the [[Balkan Peninsula]]. Some botanists include a third species, ''Laburnum caramanicum'', but this native of southeast Europe and [[Asia Minor]] is usually treated in a distinct genus ''Podocytisus'', more closely allied to the [[broom (shrub)|brooms]].
[[Image:Laburnum anagyroides flowering.jpg|thumb|left|Laburnum tree in full flower.]]
They have yellow pea-[[flower]]s in pendulous [[raceme]]s 10-30 cm (4-12 in) long in spring, which makes them very popular garden trees. In ''L. anagyroides'' the racemes are 10-20 cm (4-8 in) long, with densely packed flowers; in ''L. alpinum'' the racemes are 20-30 cm (8-12 in) long, but with the flowers sparsely along the raceme.
The leaves are trifoliate, somewhat like a [[clover]], the leaflets typically 2-3 cm (¾-1¼ in) long in ''L. anagyroides'' and 4-5 cm (1½-2 in) long in ''L. alpinum''.
Most garden specimens are of the hybrid between the two species, ''Laburnum x watereri'' ('''Voss's Laburnum'''), which combines the longer racemes of ''L. alpinum'' with the denser flowers of ''L. anagyroides''; it also has the benefit of low seed production (Laburnum seed toxicity is a common cause of poisoning in young children, who mistake the seeds for [[pea]]s).
The yellow flowers are responsible for the old poetic name 'golden chain tree' (also spelled golden chaintree or goldenchain tree).
All parts of the plant are [[poison]]ous and can be lethal if consumed in excess. Symptoms of Laburnum poisoning may include intense sleepiness, vomiting, convulsive movements, coma, slight frothing at the mouth and unequally dilated pupils. In some cases, diarrhea is very severe and at times the convulsions are markedly [[tetanic]].
Despite the plant's toxicity, it is used as a food plant by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species including [[Buff-tip]].
==References and external links==
*[http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Laburnum&SPECIES_XREF=&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= Flora Europaea: ''Laburnum'']
*[http://www.ildis.org/ ILDIS Legume Database]
*[http://www.haworth-village.org.uk/nature/time-lapse/time-lapse.asp?pic=16 time lapse video] of a year in the life of a laburnum tree.
*[http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/l/labrun02.html Grieve, 'A Modern Herbal' (1931)]
{{Commons|Laburnum x watereri}}
{{tree-stub}}
[[Category:Faboideae]]
[[Category:Poisonous plants]]
