Fabaceae - Laburnocytisus adamii
Laburnocytisus Adamii (also known as Adam's laburnum or broom laburnum) is a horticultural curiosity; a small tree which is a graft-chimaera between two species, a laburnum, Laburnum anagyroides, and a broom, Chamaecytisus purpureus (syn. Cytisus purpureus), which bears some shoots typical of the one species, some of the other, and some which are a peculiar mixture of both "parents". +Laburnocytisus 'Adamii' is a legume, a member of the pea family Papilionaceae (formerly Leguminosae). The plus sign, "+", indicates its unusual origin. The plant can also be described by the formula Chamaecytisus purpureus + Laburnum anagyroides. Most of the tree's branches resemble the laburnum in their foliage, which has three leaflets (3-palmate) and 3-6 cm long, yet also with dense clusters of broom-like shoots, also with three leaflets, but only 1 cm long and a darker green. It flowers in late spring or early summer; some branches have long (20-30 cm) racemes of yellow laburnum flowers, while others produce dense clusters of purple broom flowers. Remarkably, most branches will also produce coppery-pink flowers on short (8-15 cm) racemes, which are midway between the two "parents"; the leaves on these shoots are also intermediate. In older specimens, the proportion of broom and mixed tissues tends to decline, and the laburnum to predominate. The tree grows to a height of 7 m (rarely 8 m) and is hardy to USDA plant hardiness zone 5) in northern Europe. It requires moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil and should be grown in a sunny position to flower well. The plant originated in the nursery of M. Adam near Paris in 1825, probably as an accident; Chamaecytisus purpureus is normally a low-growing plant, and grafting it onto a straight trunk of a related species would be expected to create an attractive, semi-weeping standard. In theory, other +Laburnocytisus could be developed in the same way but using different "parents"; a white-flowered broom might make a more attract
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