Laburnum 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 "Brya ebenus" (cocus wood), ebony, and "Dalbergia melanoxylon" (African monkeywood). The heart-wood of a laburnum may be used as a substitute for ebony or rosewood. It is very hard and a dark chocolate brown, with a butter-yellow sapwood. "Laburnum" species and hybrids are cultivated as ornamental trees for gardens and parks. They are also trained as espaliers on pergolas, for ceilings of pendant flowers in season. In its natural
Laburnum Avenue an at-grade crossing of Norfolk Southern Railway's Richmond District rail line and intersects SR 33 (Nine Mile Road) west of Highland Springs and east of the historic home Beth Elon. The highway heads north, intersecting Creighton Road, then curves west and intersects US 360 (Mechanicsville Turnpike) within East Highland Park. Laburnum Avenue crosses over CSX's Piedmont Subdivision and passes along the southern edge of Richmond International Raceway between Carolina Avenue and Richmond Henrico Turnpike. Laburnum Avenue continues west into the city of Richmond. The four-lane boulevard intersects US 1 and US 301 (Chamberlayne Avenue) within the Ginter Park Historic District.