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"
HMS Laburnum (1915) of Ireland with the loss of 32 lives. "Laburnum" was one of several ships, also including the seaplane carrier and the sloops and , to go to "Hesperian"s aid. Attempts to tow "Hesperian" to port failed, with the stricken liner sinking on 6 September. The sinking of the "Hesperian", which occurred despite an assurance to US President Woodrow Wilson from the German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg that no passenger liners would be sank without warning, provoked protests from America that resulted in the submarine campaign against merchant shipping in British waters being suspended for several months. On 24 April 1916,