C Y T 
fomewhat bellied, acuminate. Stamina: filaments dia- 
delphous, (lingle and nine-cleft,) riling upwards; ait- 
tlierae fimple. Piflilliim : germ oblong; fiyle Ample, 
riling upwards; ftigma obtufe. Pericarpium : legume 
oblong, obtufe, attenuated at the bafe, (tiff. Seeds: a 
few, kidney-form, compreifed.— Effential Chara8.tr. Ca¬ 
lyx, two-lipped ; upper lip two-cleft, lower three-tooth¬ 
ed ; legume attenuated at the bafe. 
Species, i. Cytifus laburnum, or laburnum, anciently 
bean-trefoil-tree- racemes fimple, pendulous; leaflets 
ovate-oblong. The common height of the laburnum is 
from eight to fifteen feet; but, in .good ground, and 
when planted thick, it will run up much higher ; leaves 
termite, on long petioles, commonly three together from 
one.point; leaflets quite entire, fmooth, ana pale green 
on the upper furface, glaucous, and covered with lhort 
appreiled hairs on the lower, which has a ftrong promi¬ 
nent nerve or midrib. The flowers come out from the 
fame (liort fpurs with- the leaves in naked, handfome, 
villofe, racemes, a {'pan in length; and beyond thefeyoung 
fliootsare produced, which are white, and bear the terjnate 
leaves fingly: each flower hangs from a long pedicel; calyx 
yellovvilh, (mail, two-lipped ; the upper lip cloven, the 
lower having three minute teeth ; corolla pale yellow ; 
ftandard broad, emarginate, with dulky fpots and dots 
within at the bafe ; wings longer than the keel, hooked; 
keel in two parts; flaminiferous llieath in one piece, the 
two upper filaments ftanding crolfwife ; germ fmooth ; 
legume from an inch to near two incites in length, co¬ 
vered with white apprefled hairs, containing from one 
or two to fix or feven ripe feeds, which are black and 
Alining ; feveral at one or both ends are frequently 
abortive. 
There are two varieties of laburnum, which Mr. Mil¬ 
ler regards as diftindt forts. The firft broad-leaved, which 
was formerly more common in the Englilh gardens than 
at prefent; and the fecond, the narrow-leaved, which 
having much longer fpikes of flowers makes a finer ap¬ 
pearance, and has in a manner difearded the other from 
onamental plantations. The firft, however, grows to be 
the largeA tree, and the wood of it is very hard, of a 
fine colour, and will polilh very well ; it approaches near 
to green ebony, and is called by the French ebony of the 
Alps, and is there ufed for many kinds of furniture ; but 
in England there are few of thefe trees which have been 
fullered to Hand long enough to arrive to any confider- 
able fize ; for, as they have been only conlidered as or¬ 
namental, the frequent alterations which nioft of the 
gardens in England have undergone, have occufioned 
their being rooted out wherever they were growing; 
but in fome of the old gardens in Scotland, where they 
have been permitted to Hand, there are large trees of 
this kind, which are fit to cut down for the ufe of the 
timber. They grow very fait, and are extremely hardy, 
and therefore may be well worth propagating upon poor 
Aiallow foils, and in expofed fituations. The duke of 
Queenlberry fowed a great quantity of the feeds of this 
tree, upon the fide of tlie downs, at his feat near Amef- 
bury, in Wiltfliire, where the fituation was very much 
expofed, and the foil fo Aiallow, that few trees would 
grow there ; yet in this place the young trees were 
twelve feet high in four years growth, and became a 
Aielter to the other plantations, for which purpole they 
were deAgned ; but the hares and rabbits being great 
enemies to thefe trees, by barking them in winter, they 
Aiould be fenced from thefe animals. Hence it is fug- 
gefted by Mr. Boutcher, that the laburnum is very pro¬ 
per to fow in plantations infeAed with hares and rabbits, 
who will touch no other plant fo long as a twig of la¬ 
burnum remains. Though eaten to the ground in win¬ 
ter it will fpring again the next feafon, and thus con- 
Aantly fupply thefe noxious animals ; fo that by expend¬ 
ing Ave (hillings in laburnum feed, a whole plantation 
may be fecured. But the laburnum is not only ufeful 
in preferving other more valuable trees. The wood is 
t S U S. 551 
of great Arength, and is much ufed for pegs, wcdgcr> 
mulical inftruments, handles of knives, and a variety of 
furniture. Mr. Boutcher mentions, that he had (een a 
large table and a dozen chairs made of it, which judges 
of elegant furniture thought the. fineft they had ever 
feen. Pliny fays its wood is tire hardelt of any next to 
ebony. Matthiolus fpeaks of its being ufed for making 
the bed bows. It chars remarkably well; and, if planted 
thick to'run up tall, it would make durable hop-poles. 
For this purpofe it might be planted in large clumps in 
parks, where it would be alfo very ornamental ; the 
branches being generally loaded with long Brings of 
flowers, hanging down from every part of them, in the 
month of May. Haller obferves that it is very bitter, 
and that tiie feed both purges and vomits violently. He 
alfo remarks that the Latin name laburnum was evidently 
formed from the Alpine name I'aubours. Formerly it 
was called in Englilh bean-trefoil and peafcod-trec, but the 
Larin name has prevailed over thefe. In Germany it is 
bohnsnlraum, and in French cytije des Alpes, aubcurs, and 
faux cbenier. It is a native of Swifierlar.d, Auftria, Pro¬ 
vence, 6c c. and was cultivated here by Gerarde in 1596. 
Tradeliant had both varieties in his garden. 
2. Cytilus nigricans, or black cytifus : racemes ter¬ 
minating, erect; calyxes hairy, with minute tocthlets ; 
leaflets elliptic, hairy underneath. This flirub feldom 
rifes more than three or four feet high in England ; it 
naturally puts out many lateral branches near the ground, 
which ipread out on every fide, fo as to form a low 
fhrubby buth, which is with difficulty raifed to a (tern ; 
the branches are very flender, and their ends are fre¬ 
quently killed in levere winters. The leaves grow by 
threes, are equal in fize, and of a dark green colour. 
The branches grow eredt, and are terminated by bunches 
of yellow flowers, about four or five inches in length, 
and making a fine appearance. The branches, calyx, 
and legume, as well as the under fin face of the leaves, 
are covered with a fine filvery pile; the end leaflet is 
larger than the fide ones. In its native place of growth, 
it is found from a foot-and a half to the height of a 
man, with ereft, round, fmooth, pliant, Items. The 
flowers are pendulous on (hort peduncles, and have an 
agreeable odour. The upper lip of the calyx is entire ; 
the three teeth of the lower are very {'mull. Standard of 
the corolla roundi(h, blunt, reflex ; keel very large and 
wide; wings a_little fliorter; the whole flower has a 
lhort and broad appearance. Native of Silefia, Aufiria, 
Hungary, and Italy. Cultivated in 1731 by Mr. Miller, 
who fays that it \Vas formerly in fome of the curious 
gardens here, but had b-en long lofi, till he procured 
the feeds,-which fucceeded in the Chelsea garden. It 
flowers in July, after nioft of the other forts are part. 
3. Cytifus wolgaricus, or winged-leaved cytifus .- hoa¬ 
ry ; racemes fimple, erebt; flowers pointing the lame 
way; leaves pinnate; leaflets roundilh; ftipules ftibu- 
late. This is a very handfome fnrub, fcarcely growing 
to two feet in height. The leaves have from three to 
nine, but ufualty fix or {'even pairs of leaflets, termi¬ 
nated by an odd one ; they are fmooth above, filvery 
beneath, and moftly orbiculate. The flowers are large, 
and of a deep yellow colour. Seeds large, grey, telta- 
ceous-variegated. Native of Siberia, in the deierts be¬ 
tween the Tanais and the Wolga: obferved there by 
Pallas. - 
4. Cytifus feffilifo'lius, or common cytifus: racemes 
erect; calyxes with a triple bracte ; floral leaves fef- 
lile. This rifes with a woody (talk, putting out many 
branches, covered with a brownith bark ; flowers in dole 
lhort terminating racemes, of a bright yellow colour. 
This flirub rifes to the height of {'even or height feet, 
and becomes very biiflty ; it is ealily known by its 
fmoothnefs, the uprightness of the ftalks and racemes, 
and particularly by the triple bradle immediately below 
the flower. Native of the fouth of Europe ; cultivated 
here in 1713. Mr, Miller lays it has been long culti¬ 
vated 
