1522 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



This species is variable in the wild state : 



1. Var. pilosum, Koehne, Deut. Dendr. 326 (1893), has leaflets with a few 

 scattered hairs on the under surface. 



2. Var. microstachys, Koehne, loc. cit. Racemes shorter and less pendulous 

 than in the type. This occurs in sunny arid localities. 



3. Loudon mentions a pendulous form in Loddiges' nursery, which, from the 

 description, appears to have been a hybrid between this species and L. vulgare. 



This species has much the same distribution as L. vulgare, but is found at a 

 higher elevation in the mountains of central Europe, being common in the Jura, the 

 Alps, and the Carpathians. 



The two species were confused ; but L. alpinum ' appears to have been as early 

 introduced as the other. It is more hardy, and is cultivated 5 of latitude farther 

 north in Norway and Sweden. It thrives in the Highlands of Scotland, 2 and hence 

 is often, but erroneously, called Scotch Laburnum. The largest specimens, which 

 we have seen of this species in Britain, are the fine old trees in the Edinburgh 

 Botanic Garden, which were planted about 1820 and are now showing signs of old 

 age. One of these in 191 1 was over 40 ft. high and nearly 5 ft. in girth. 



(A. H.) 



LABURNUM VULGARE, Laburnum 



Laburnum vulgare, Berchtold and Presl, Opir. Host. iii. 99 (1830-1835); Grisebach, Spirit. Ft. Hum. 



i. 7 (1843)- 

 Laburnum anagyroides, Medicus, in Vorl. Churfiirstl. Ges. ii. 363 (1787); Schneider, Laubholzkunde, 



ii. 37 (1907). 

 Cytisus Laburnum, Linnaeus, Sp. PI. 739 (1753); Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. ii. 590 (1838). 



A small tree, seldom exceeding 30 ft. in height, with smooth greenish bark, and 

 few long shoots, most of the lateral buds developing only short shoots, on which 

 the leaves are borne in fascicles. Young branchlets covered with appressed silky 

 pubescence. Leaves on long pubescent stalks. Leaflets three, elliptic, the terminal 

 one larger than the two lateral ; tapering at both ends, mucronate at the apex ; upper 

 surface dark green, glabrous ; lower surface pale, more or less covered with appressed 

 silky pubescence ; margin entire ; venation pinnate ; stalklets silky pubescent. Buds 

 with two to three silky external scales, a true terminal bud being present, which is 

 surrounded in winter by acuminate silky stipular leaf bases. 



Flowers in long pendulous racemes ; the axis, long slender pedicels, and calyx 

 being covered with silky appressed hairs. Corolla large, yellow ; standard veined 

 with dark purple lines. Pods about 2 in. long, often contracted in the middle, at first 

 silky, then becoming glabrescent, thickened on both sutures, dehiscent. Seeds 

 reniform-orbicular, depressed, black. 



1 Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. ii. 917 (1838) says that the Alpine Laburnum, though actually a much lower tree than the 

 mountain ash, will, when drawn up in woods, attain twice the height of the latter tree. This species was called Tree Laburnum 

 by Sang, Nicol's Planter's /Calendar, 91 (1812) to distinguish it from the common Laburnum, which was said to be more 

 shrubby in growth in Scotland. 



8 See Plate 370, where in the accompanying letterpress are given further particulars. 



