Castle Howard Arboretum Trust - Furniture Makers Trees

Botanical name: Laburnum x watereri

Family: Leguminosae

Common Name: Laburnum

Habitat and Distribution:

A hybrid between Common and Scotch Laburnum (L .anagyroides and L .alpinum)

L .anagyroides is a native of C. and E. Europe whereas L .alpinum originally came from the Alps, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. Both are naturally found in mountain woods and thickets but now widely cultivated for ornament throughout Europe.

They prefer a moist, fertile, cool, well-drained soil in a sunny location which offers shade during hottest part of the day.

Description:

A small, deciduous tree, typically 4-5 metres (12-16 ft) tall, but some have attained a height of 12 metres. It is obovate in shape, two thirds as wide as tall and has an upright narrow to upright

spreading habit. The trees tend to be sparse and underfoliated at the base; most leaves in the upper two thirds of the tree.

The leaves are divided into 3 silky-hairy, dull green elliptical leaflets each being of about equal size 3-7 cm (1.25-3 in) long. In autumn the leave turn to an unimpressive yellow-green.

The flowers are very showy being pendulous clusters 25-50 cm (10-20 in) long of yellow pealike flowers in late spring/early summer. It has been said that during the time that this plant is in bloom, nothing compares.

The fruit is a small flattened pod which changes from green to brown in October.

The stems are shiny, olive green and even older branches remain smooth and olive green, eventually the main trunk's bark develops some roughness and fissuring

Location within the arboretum:

The tree can be found in the old entrance gate area. As you enter this area though the gate in the deer fence the tree can be found about 50 m away, on the left towards the fence.

Furniture Makers Trees at The Arboretum - Kew at Castle Howard

Timber:

The timber has a dark, olive-brown ground and translucent golden grain.

Uses:

Was once used for country furniture. It is one of the loveliest woods used for turning.

It has long been used as a decorative veneer, especially as ‘oysters’ made by slicing small branches to create circular/oval pieces with contrasting sapwood and heartwood.

Since all parts of this tree are poisonous it was probably never used as a medicinal or food resource

Because of its spectacular flowering display it is often used as an ornamental tree in parks and gardens.