Poisonous garden favourite
Name: Laburnum (Cytisus laburnum)
Otherwise known as: Golden Showers
Habitat: A deciduous tree member of the Leguminoseae family, growing up to 10m in barren soil in mountainous areas and native to Europe. It displays opposed trifoliate leaves, similar in appearance to Acacia and produces drooping racemes of beautiful golden-yellow flowers that develop into a black bean pod that expels its seed by means of dehiscence: a spontaneous explosive distribution. All parts of the plant are poisonous.
What does it do: Laburnum was introduced into Britain in the 16th century and has remained one of the most popular garden ornamentals along with the hybridised C. purpurascens, which displays purple flowers. It rapidly drew the attention of herbalists and physicians, who recommended it as a purge and parasiticide. Gerrard states ‘…it has few challengers as a purgative, but must be taken with care, and never given to the child or the weakened with age’. It remained a popular treatment for curing infestations of body lice until the 20th century, when it was realised that strong decoctions were leading to toxicity as the fluid penetrated through the skin. In the UK there are an average of 50 cases of Laburnum poisoning a year, mostly affecting children; the symptoms are excessive salivation, vomiting, convulsions, tachycardia, confusion, diarrhea and respiratory difficulties. A common treatment was to administer an emetic of warm soapy water laced with ground charcoal, and when this was expelled, to follow it up with a glass of whisky. We once owned a goat that gorged itself on Laburnum, but managed to effect a cure by eating our raspberry plants.
Laburnum contains powerful quinoline akaloids such as Cytisine, which has a similar effect to Nicotine, and has been used as a method of weaning people off smoking; in India the leaves of L. anagyroides are dried and cured in the same way as tobacco, and smoked by the natives of the southern states. Ayurvedic medicine uses the Laburnum leaves and flowers to treat asthma, constipation and whooping cough. Recent experiments on the sub-continent suggest that while all parts of the plant remain toxic, some extracts from the leaf and bark contain very powerful anti-oxidants that may prove effective in treating some cancers.
Laburnum wood is very hard and takes a brilliant polish and was in great demand by cabinet makers in the 17th and 18th centuries, when it was used for stringing and marquetry. It was no less popular with musical instrument makers, who employed it in the manufacture of flutes and other woodwind instruments.
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