Laburnum in "L. anagyroides" and long in "L. alpinum". They have yellow pea-flowers in pendulous leafless racemes long in spring, which makes them very popular garden trees. In "L. anagyroides", the racemes are long, with densely packed flowers; in "L. alpinum" the racemes are long, but with the flowers sparsely along the raceme. The fruit develops as a pod and is extremely poisonous. 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 poisonous, although mortality is very rare. Symptoms of laburnum poisoning may include
Laburnum anagyroides in one of his poems: The writer J. R. R. Tolkien was inspired by the "laburnum" for his creation of Laurelin, one of the two mythological trees in "The Silmarillion", and Tolkien's description of it is strongly influenced by Thompson's verses. Laburnum anagyroides Laburnum anagyroides, the common laburnum, golden chain or golden rain, is a species in the subfamily Faboideae, and genus "Laburnum". "Laburnum alpinum" is closely related. It is native to Central and Southern Europe. The plant grows and flowers in damp and mild habitats, especially in the calcareous soils of Southern Europe. The plant is a small deciduous