Laburnum Trees - Golden Chain Trees

Laburnum trees are a genus of two deciduous trees which are in the family Faboideae. These trees are best known for their outstanding display of golden yellow flowers, which gives the genus its common name of Golden Chain. The flowers hang downwards in pendulous racemes, making a chain of buttery yellow flowers in spring.

The trees in this genus are planted for their high ornamental value, and when the tree is more mature the large racemes of flowers really are a sight to behold. Laburnum trees are not really cultivated for woodwork today, but historically they were the choice tree for making Great Highland Bagpipes before more exotic wood like ebony was available. As beautiful as the tree is to look at, it is in fact poisonous if any part of it is consumed - including the bark, leaves, flowers and seed pods, so make sure that you plant it in a position that accounts for this.