Honey bees
Nectar value
Low
Pollen value
Low
Pollinator plant
Laburnum, Golden chain tree
Laburnum anagyroides
Linked agroforestry plant data
Pollinator recipe
Bee value
Who this plant supports
Agroforestry database
Complete plant information
Structure
- Vegetation layer
- Tree
- Size
- Small
- Dimensions
- 8.00 m high × 5.00 m wide
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Foliage
- Deciduous
Site conditions
- USDA hardiness
- 4-8
- Moisture
- Moist, Well-drained
- Soil
- Sandy, Loamy, Clay
- pH
- Acid, Neutral, Alkaline
- Light
- Sun, Partial shade
Uses
- Functions
- Insecticide, Nitrogen fixer, Timber, Rootstock
- Edibility
- 0 out of 5
- Medicinal value
- 0 out of 5
This plant is often used as a rootstock for other members of the legume family. The seeds contain the toxic alkaloid 'cytisine'. This has insecticidal properties similar to nicotine (Nicotiana spp.), but it cannot be recommended for use because it must be applied at a concentration that can then be absorbed over a large part of the body with potentially fatal consequences. The wood is coarse-grained, durable, dark in color, and very hard. It can be used as a replacement for ebony. It is highly sought after by wood turners and is used in the production of instruments and furniture, especially where strength and smoothness are important.