Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Laburnum

LABURNUM, the Broad-leafed, Cytisus laburnum, L. a valuable exotic tree, introduced from the Alps, into the Highlands of Scotland.

This plant is very hardy, and will thrive on poor shallow lands, and in exposed situations: it is propagated by seeds, which should be deposited in March, in a light and rather moist soil, where the tree is intended to remain; and, in the succeeding month, young shoots will appear. But, if sown in autumn, the seeds do not germinate till the following spring.

The broad-leaved laburnum forms an agreeable ornament for parks and gardens; as it grows rapidly, with a straight stem, and, in the course of four years, is generally twelve feet high.—Its wood is frequently employed on the Continent, and in the Highlands, for making chairs, tables, and other articles of household furniture, which are said to resemble the finest mahogany.—Suckow remarks, that a decoction of the fresh branches and leaves of this tree, imparted an excellent dark-brown colour to cloth prepared in a solution of green vitriol.