Laburnum anagyroides plant contain cytisine and are poisonous if consumed. The wood is hard and heavy, of a yellow/brown colour, ideal for making posts, for woodturning and as fuel. In the past (and today on historic re-enactments) it was used for making bows. The tree is also known as "false ebony" since the wood from very old specimens could be used in place of ebony. "Laburnum anagyroides" is cultivated as an ornamental tree. The most common ornamental plant in the genus is a hybrid between this species and "Laburnum alpinum" — Laburnum × watereri. The English poet Francis Thompson described the "laburnum"
USS Laburnum (1864) USS Laburnum (1864) USS "Laburnum" (1864) was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy as a tugboat and dispatch boat to serve Union ships on blockade duty. "Lion", a screw tug built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1864, was purchased by the Navy 24 June 1864, renamed "Laburnum", and commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard 7 July 1864, Acting Master A. A. Owens in command. The new tug joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron at Port Royal, South Carolina, 17 July 1864. For the remainder of the Civil War she operated