Sophora is a genus of about 45 species of small trees and shrubs in the pea family Fabaceae. The species have a pantropical distribution. The generic name is derived from , an Arabic name for a pea-flowered tree.
The genus formerly had a broader interpretation including many other species now treated in other genera, notably Styphnolobium (pagoda tree genus), which differs in lacking nitrogen fixing bacteria (rhizobia) on the roots, and Dermatophyllum (the mescalbeans). Styphnolobium has galactomannans as seed polysaccharide reserve, in contrast Sophora contains arabinogalactans, and Dermatophyllum amylose.
The New Zealand Sophora species are known as kōwhai.
The seeds of species such as Sophora affinis and Sophora chrysophylla are reported to be poisonous.
Fossil record One Sophora fossil seed pod from the middle Eocene epoch has been described from the Miller clay pit in Henry County, Tennessee, United States.The Fossil History of Leguminosae from the Eocene of Southeastern North America by Patrick S. Herendeen, Advances in Legume Systematics: Part 4, The Fossil Record, Ed. P.S. Herendeen & Dilcher, 1992, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew,
Species Sophora comprises the following species:
Sophora albescens Sophora albopetiolulata Sophora alopecuroides —sophora root var. alopecuroides var. tomentosa Sophora bakeri Sophora benthamii Sophora brachygyna Sophora cassioides —Pelú (Chile) Sophora chathamica —coastal kowhai (New Zealand) Sophora chrysophylla —Māmane (Hawaii) Sophora davidi Sophora denudata Sophora dunii Sophora exigua Sophora fernandeziana (Juan Fernández Islands) var. fernandeziana var. reedeana Sophora flavescens —ku shen (Eastern Asia) var. flavescens var. galegoides var. kronei Sophora franchetiana Sophora fraseri Sophora fulvida —Waitakere kowhai (New Zealand) Sophora gibbosa Sophora godleyi—Godley kowhai, papa kowhai (New Zealand) Sophora howinsula —lignum vitae, Lord Howe kowhai Sophora huamotensis Sophora inhambanensis Sophora interrupta Sophora jaubertii Sophora koreensis – Korean necklace pod Sophora leachiana Sophora linearifolia Sophora longicarinata —limestone kowhai (New Zealand) Sophora longipes Sophora macnabiana Sophora macrocarpa — mayo or mayú (Chile) Sophora mangarevaensis (French Polynesia) Sophora masafuerana (Juan Fernández Islands) Sophora microcarpa Sophora microphylla —small-leaved kowhai (New Zealand) Sophora mollis subsp. griffithii subsp. mollis Sophora molloyi—Cook Strait Kowhai (New Zealand) Sophora moorcroftiana Sophora nuttalliana Sophora oblongata Sophora pachycarpa Sophora praetorulosa Sophora prostrata —dwarf kowhai, prostrate kowhai (New Zealand) Sophora raivavaeensis (French Polynesia) Sophora rapaensis (French Polynesia) Sophora reedeana Sophora rhynchocarpa (unplaced) Sophora saxicola (Jamaica) Sophora secundiflora, a popular landscape plant, was reclassified to Dermatophyllum secundiflorum. Sophora songarica Sophora stenophylla Sophora tetraptera —large-leaved kowhai, Taupo kowhai (New Zealand) Sophora tomentosa —necklace pod (Pantropical on coasts) subsp. littoralis subsp. occidentalis subsp. tomentosa Sophora tonkinensis Sophora toromiro —toromiro (Easter Island) Sophora velutina subsp. cavaleriei subsp. velutina subsp. zimbabweensis Sophora violacea Sophora wightii (India) Sophora xanthoantha Sophora yunnanensis Sophora zeylanica
Species names with uncertain taxonomic status The status of the following species is unresolved:
Sophora angustifolia Sophora biflora Sophora biflora Sophora buxifolia Sophora chathamica Sophora coerulea Sophora cuneifolia Sophora davidii Sophora donihuensis Sophora genistaefolia Sophora genistoides Sophora glabra Sophora glabra Sophora godleyi Sophora grandiflora Sophora grisea Sophora hirsuta Sophora houghiana Sophora howinsula Sophora jabandas Sophora juncea Sophora ludovice-Adecim-Asexta Sophora mangarevaensis Sophora mecosperma Sophora molloyi Sophora molokaiensis Sophora mutabilis Sophora myrtillifolia Sophora oblongata Sophora oblongifolia Sophora oligophylla Sophora pendula Sophora pentaphylla Sophora persica Sophora praetorulosa Sophora raivavaeensis Sophora rapaensis Sophora robinoides Sophora senegalensis Sophora sibirica Sophora sinica Sophora sinuata Sophora sororia Sophora sumatrana Sophora sylvatica Sophora tetraptera Sophora tiloebsis Sophora tiloensis Sophora trifolia Sophora triphylla Sophora vanioti Sophora vestita Sophora viciifolis
References
External links
Sophora macrocarpa pictures from Chilebosque