Golden Chain Tree Laburnum anagyroides
Other Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- la-BURN-um an-ah-gy-ROY-deez
- This plant has high severity poison characteristics.
- See below
- Description
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The plant is a small deciduous tree or large shrub up to 30 ft tall. It has smooth bark, dark green spreading branches and pendulous and pubescent twigs. The leaves are generally trifoliate and oval with long petioles, smooth on the upper side and hairy on the underside. It flowers during May and June.
Laburnum anagyroides blooms in late spring with pea-like, yellow flowers densely packed in pendulous racemes 4–10 in long. The flowers are golden yellow, sweet-scented, and typically bloom in May.
The seeds are legumes with large numbers of black seeds that contain cytisine, an alkaloid extremely poisonous to humans as well as goats and horses, especially when not ripe. However, some wild animals such as hares and deer can feed on them without any problems, and because of this, the plant is believed to have magic properties in some regions.
All parts of the plant contain cytisine and are poisonous if consumed.
It is short-lived and not heat tolerant. Its leaves alternate, long-stalked with 3 leaflets; flowers pea-like, golden, in long drooping clusters; fruit a long, flattened pod, sparsely branched; loses lower branches.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- 'Sunspire'
- 'Sunspire'
- 'Sunspire'
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Sunspire'
- 'Sunspire'
- 'Sunspire'
- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Laburnum
- Species:
- anagyroides
- Family:
- Fabaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Central & South East Europe
- Dimensions:
- Height: 12 ft. 0 in. - 30 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 9 ft. 0 in. - 12 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Poisonous
- Tree
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Erect
- Open
- Growth Rate:
- Slow
- Maintenance:
- High
- Texture:
- Fine
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Available Space To Plant:
- 12-24 feet
- 24-60 feet
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Type:
- Legume
- Fruit Description:
- Fruit a long, flattened pod, dry and splits open when ripe.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Raceme
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Flower Petals:
- 4-5 petals/rays
- asymmetrical petals
- fused petals
- Flower Size:
- > 6 inches
- Flower Description:
- Flowers pea-like, golden, in long drooping clusters 6-10 in. pendulous flower racemes
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Description:
- leaves alternate, long-stalked with 3 leaflets 1.3-3 in. insignificant fall color
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Light Brown
- Bark Description:
- The bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Green
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
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Landscape:
- Design Feature:
- Flowering Tree
- Problems:
- Messy
- Poisonous to Humans
- Short-lived
- Weedy
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Poisonous to Humans:
- Poison Severity:
- High
- Poison Symptoms:
- All parts of the tree are poisonous: roots, bark, wood, leaves, flower-buds, petals, and seedpods. The harmful part of the plant is the seedpods. In many cases of ingestion of a small number of seeds, there are no symptoms. Where symptoms do occur these are usually nausea and vomiting. Higher doses can produce intense sleepiness, convulsive possibly tetanic movements, coma, slight frothing at the mouth and unequally dilated pupils. Nervousness, stomach and intestinal irritation with nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea; irregular pulse, convulsions, coma. HIGHLY TOXIC MAY BE FATAL IF EATEN!
- Poison Toxic Principle:
- Cytisine, an alkaloid
- Causes Contact Dermatitis:
- No
- Poison Part:
- Bark
- Flowers
- Fruits
- Leaves
- Roots
- Sap/Juice
- Seeds
- Stems
