CHAP, XLI. LEGUMINA CER. Cy’T1SUS. 591 
was observed by Mr. Rivers in England; in which, at the extreme 
end of the shoot of a plant of C. Z. purpurascens, there came forth 
a branch of the true C. purpureus, with its small leaves and peculiar 
habit, appearing as if budded on the purple laburnum. (Gard. Mag., 
vol. xii. p. 225.) The same thing has occurred to the original tree 
in our garden at Bayswater. 
¥ 3. C.(L.) atpr'nus Mill. The Alpine, or Scotch, Laburnum. 
Identification. Mill. Dict., No. 2.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 153.; Don’s Mill., 2. p. 154. 
Synonymes. CC. Labirnum £ Ait., Lam., Dec. Fl. Fr.; C¥tisus angustifdlius Manch Meth., 145. ; 
C. Labirnum var. latifolium Pers. and Du Mont; Cytise des Alpes, l’Aubours, Fr.; Alpen Bohen- 
baum, Ger. : Maggio pendolino, Ital. . 
Engravings. Waldst. et Kit. Hung., 3. t. 260.; and the plate of this tree in Vol, II. 
Spec. Char., §c. Branches glabrous and terete. Leaves petiolate; leaflets 
ovate-lanceolate, rounded at the base. Racemes pendulous. Pedicels and 
calyxes puberulous. Legumes glabrous, few-seeded, marginate. (Don’s 
Mill., ii. p. 154.) A tree, growing to the height of 20 ft. or 30 ft., and 
sometimes much higher, in a state of cultivation. It is found in Carinthia, in 
the Alps of Jura, on Mount Cenis, and on the Apennines. According to 
some, it is also found wild in Scotland ; but, though it is much cultivated 
in some parts of Fifeshire and Forfarshire, it is far from being indigenous 
there. It was introduced into Britain about the same time as the other 
species, viz. 1596 ; and was, prebably, for a long time confounded with it; 
for which reason we shall treat of the history, uses, &c,, of the two spe- 
cies, or races, together. 
Variety. 
¥ C.(L.) a. 2 péndulus has pendulous branches, and, in the foliage and le- 
gumes, seems intermediate between C. Laburnum and C. (L.) alpinus. 
This is very obvious in a fine specimen of this variety in the arboretum 
of the Messrs. Leddiges, as shown in our plate in Vol. II. The pen- 
dulous variety of C. Labarnum is a much less robust plant. 
Geography, History, §c. The Cytisus Labarnum, according to the Nouveau 
Du Hamel, grows spontaneously in the mountain forests of Germany, Austria, 
Hungary, Switzerland, and Italy; in several provinces of France, and, among 
others, in Provence, Dauphiné, Burgundy, Lyonois, Jura, &c. The Cytisus 
(Z.) alpinus is found in most of these woods, along with the other species, or 
race; but it is now particularly abundant in Savoy and Hungary. The labur- 
num appears to have been known to the Greeks, under the name of Anaguris, 
and it is mentioned by Theocritus, Virgil, and Pliny. Theocritus states that 
goats are very fond of its shocts; and Virgil, that it augments the milk of 
that animal. Pliny, in his Nat. Hist., book xvi. chap. 18., observes that the 
laburnum, a native of the Alps, was not common in Italy in his time. He 
adds that bees would not even settle upon the blossoms of this tree. Mathiolus 
mentions that the wood of the laburnum was considered, in his time, to make 
the best bows. Gerard cultivated this tree in his garden in Holborn, in 1596; 
and observes that there are two varieties, one with long broad leaves, and 
the other with less and narrower leaves; that he possessed the latter only, 
but that Tradescant had both sorts. Miller recognised them as species; but 
Linnzus did not. Whether they are species or varieties, they are certainly 
very distinct; as much so, perhaps, as the Quércus Robur pedunculatum, and 
Q. #. sessiliflorum. Both sorts, being highly ornamental, have been extensively 
propagated and cultivated in British gardens and plantations. 
Properties and Uses. The heart-wood of the laburnum is of a dark colour ; 
and, though of rather a coarse grain, it is very hard and durable: it will take 
a polish, and may be made to resemble ebony. A cubic foot weighs 
52 lb. ll oz. in a dried state. The colour and grain of the heart-wood 
vary much, according to the soil, and the age of the tree. It is darkest 
in the C. Labarnum, when grown on poor calcareous soil; and lightest in 
the C. (Z.) alpinus, when grown in deep rich soil: in which last case its 
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