"Indian laburnum" is the golden shower tree, a distant relative of the genus Laburnum.

Laburnum (commonly called golden chain) is a genus of two species of small tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

s in the subfamily Faboideae

Faboideae

Faboideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. One acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae....

 of the pea family Fabaceae

Fabaceae

The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...

, Laburnum anagyroides

Laburnum anagyroides

Laburnum anagyroides is a species of small deciduous trees or large shrubs up to 7 m tall in the genus Laburnum, native to Central and Southern Europe. It is a popular ornamental plant, along with the other species in the genus, L. alpinum, and especially the hybrid between them, L. × watereri. L...

(common laburnum) and L. alpinum

Laburnum alpinum

Laburnum alpinum is a leguminous flowering tree. It flowers in late spring, bearing panicles of yellow pea-like flowers. It is distributed in middle and southeast Europe.-References and external links:* USDA Plant Info...

(alpine laburnum). They are native to the mountains of southern Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 from France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 to the Balkan Peninsula. Some botanists include a third species, Laburnum caramanicum, but this native of southeast Europe and Asia Minor

Asia Minor

Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...

 is usually treated in a distinct genus Podocytisus

Podocytisus

Podocytisus is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the sub family Faboideae....

, more closely allied to the brooms

Broom (shrub)

Brooms are a group of evergreen, semi-evergreen, and deciduous shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the legume family Fabaceae, mainly in the three genera Chamaecytisus, Cytisus and Genista, but also in many other small genera . All genera in this group are from the tribe Genisteae...

.

The trees are deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...

. They have yellow pea-flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s in pendulous raceme

Raceme

A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...

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

Clover

Clover , or trefoil, is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the leguminous pea family Fabaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution; the highest diversity is found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes...

; the leaflets are typically 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 in) long in L. anagyroides and 4–5 cm (1.6–2.0 in) long in L. alpinum.

Most garden specimens are of the hybrid between the two species, Laburnum × 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 can poison anyone who mistakes the seeds for pea

Pea

A pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Peapods are botanically a fruit, since they contain seeds developed from the ovary of a flower. However, peas are considered to be a vegetable in cooking...

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

Poison

In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....

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. The main toxin in the plant is cytisine

Cytisine

Cytisine, also known as baphitoxine and sophorine, is a pyridine-like alkaloid. In medical use, it improves the rate of smoking cessation. It is less effective but much cheaper than similar products. Its structure is similar to nicotine and has similar pharmacological effects...

, a nicotinic receptor agonist

Agonist

An agonist is a chemical that binds to a receptor of a cell and triggers a response by that cell. Agonists often mimic the action of a naturally occurring substance...

.
It is used as a food plant by the larva

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

e of some Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...

 species, including the buff-tip

Buff-tip

The Buff-tip is a moth of the family Notodontidae. It is found throughout Europe.This is a fairly large, heavy bodied species with a wingspan of 55-68 mm. The forewings are grey with a large prominent buff patch at the apex. As the thoracic hair is also buff, the moth looks remarkably like a...

.

The heart-wood of a laburnum may be used as a substitute for ebony or rosewood, very hard and a dark chocolate brown, with a butter-yellow sapwood.

Uses

Laburnum has historically been used for cabinetmaking and inlay, as well as for musical instruments. In addition to such wind instruments as recorders and flutes, it was a popular wood for Great Highland bagpipes before taste turned to imported dense tropical hardwoods such as cocuswood

Cocuswood

Cocuswood is one of the classic woods, one of the first exports from the West Indies to Europe. It is sometimes called Jamaican ebony....

, ebony

Ebony

Ebony is a dense black wood, most commonly yielded by several species in the genus Diospyros, but ebony may also refer to other heavy, black woods from unrelated species. Ebony is dense enough to sink in water. Its fine texture, and very smooth finish when polished, make it valuable as an...

, and African blackwood

African Blackwood

Dalbergia melanoxylon is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to seasonally dry regions of Africa from Senegal east to Eritrea and south to the Transvaal in South Africa....

.

Cultural references

In the TV mystery series Mother Love

Mother Love (TV series)

Mother Love is a British television drama that first aired in 1989. It was adapted by Andrew Davies from Laura Black's novel concerning a mother's obsessive love for her son, vengeful hatred of his father, her ex-husband, and the effect on her daughter-in-law and grandchildren...

, Helena (Diana Rigg

Diana Rigg

Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service....

) muses over what plant she should use to poison a pair of children and chooses the laburnum, saying, "Laburnum! Such a pretty tree – and so many of them!"

Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College, Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a professional poet and writer...

 referred to the image of the laburnum tree and "its blond colonnades" in her poem "The Arrival of the Bee Box", first published posthumously in the collection Ariel

Ariel (Plath)

Ariel was the second book of Sylvia Plath's poetry to be published, and was originally published in 1965, two years after her death by suicide. The poems in the 1965 edition of Ariel, with their free flowing images and characteristically menacing psychic landscapes, marked a dramatic turn from...

 (1965).

Oscar Wilde referred to laburnum in his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published novel by Oscar Wilde, appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine on 20 June 1890, printed as the July 1890 issue of this magazine...

, noting the "...honey-sweet and honey-coloured blossoms of a laburnum...".

In Richmond

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

 and continuing into Henrico County, Virginia

Henrico County, Virginia

Henrico is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. As of 2010, Henrico was home to 306,935 people. It is located in the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, Laburnum Avenue is one of the main thoroughfares. The street is lined with many laburnum trees.

In W. W. Jacobs

W. W. Jacobs

William Wymark Jacobs , was an English author of short stories and novels.-Writings:Jacobs is now remembered for his macabre tale "The Monkey's Paw" and "The Toll House"...

' short story "The Monkey's Paw

The Monkey's Paw

"The Monkey's Paw" is a horror short story by author W. W. Jacobs. It was published in England in 1902.The story is based on the famous "setup" in which three wishes are granted. In the story, the paw of a dead monkey is a talisman that grants its possessor three wishes, but the wishes come with an...

", the name of the house of the family is "Laburnum Villa", suggesting that the house is not as safe and protective as initially described.

In the Doctor Who serial "The Mark of the Rani

The Mark of the Rani

The Mark of The Rani is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts from 2 February to 9 February 1985...

", the Sixth Doctor

Sixth Doctor

The Sixth Doctor is the sixth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Colin Baker...

 suggests that if the Master

Master (Doctor Who)

The Master is a recurring character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is a renegade Time Lord and the archenemy of the Doctor....

 turned into a tree, it would be a laburnum, because they have poisonous pods.

The novel A Melon for Ecstasy

A Melon for Ecstasy

A Melon for Ecstasy is a 1971 novel written by John Fortune and John Wells. The title is derived from a fictional Turkish proverb, "A woman for duty / A boy for pleasure / But a melon for ecstasy."-Plot summary:...

by John Fortune

John Fortune

John Fortune is a British satirist, comedian writer and actor, best known for his work with John Bird and Rory Bremner on the TV series Bremner, Bird and Fortune. He was educated at Bristol Cathedral School and King's College, Cambridge, where he was to meet and form a lasting friendship with John...

 and John Wells

John Wells (satirist)

John Wells was an English actor, writer and satirist, educated at Eastbourne College and St Edmund Hall, Oxford...

 is, in part, about the main character's forbidden love affair with the laburnum in his back yard.

Laburnum seeds are the agent of suspected poisoning in the Daphne du Maurier

Daphne du Maurier

Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE was a British author and playwright.Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". The first three were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.Her elder sister was...

 novel My Cousin Rachel

My Cousin Rachel

My Cousin Rachel is a novel by British author Daphne du Maurier, published in 1951. Like the earlier Rebecca, it is a mystery-romance, largely set on a large estate in Cornwall.-Plot overview:...

.

In Redwall novel Triss

Triss

Triss is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques, published in 2002. It is the fifteenth book in the Redwall series.-Plot introduction:Three slaves, Triss, a squirrelmaid, Shogg, an otter, and Welfo, a hogmaid, escape from Riftgard, the stronghold of a white ferret brood...

, the secret entrance to Brockhall is between an ash tree and a laburnum tree.

In Ted Hughes

Ted Hughes

Edward James Hughes OM , more commonly known as Ted Hughes, was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until...

 poem "The Laburnum Top," the central character goldfinch sits and feeds its young ones on this tree.

In Wizardborn

Wizardborn

Wizardborn is the third novel in David Farland's epic fantasy series The Runelords.-Plot introduction:Wizardborn is an epic fantasy novel set in a land where men can bestow to each other a number of endowments, granting the recipient of the endowment attributes such as increased strength, a more...

, the third book in Dave Wolverton

Dave Wolverton

Dave Wolverton is a science fiction author who also goes under the pseudonym David Farland for his fantasy works. He currently lives in St. George, Utah with his wife and five children.-Career:...

's (David Farland} The Runelords

The Runelords

The Runelords is a fantasy series by author David Farland. In the universe of The Runelords, there exists a unique magical system which relies on the existence of distinct bodily attributes, such as brawn, grace, and wit. These attributes can be transferred from one individual to another in a...

 series, Averan, the Earth Warden, chooses her staff of power from the wood of the laburnum tree.

In "The Hobbit

The Hobbit

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...

" by "J.R.R. Tolkien", Bilbo Baggins

Bilbo Baggins

Bilbo Baggins is the protagonist and titular character of The Hobbit and a supporting character in The Lord of the Rings, two of the most well-known of J. R. R...

 recalls Gandalf

Gandalf

Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...

's "...particularly excellent fireworks...They used to go up like great lilies and snapdragons and laburnums of fire and hang in the twilight all evening."