Sophora
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 sophera, 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, which differs in lacking nitrogen fixing bacteria on the roots, and Dermatophyllum. 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.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 Sophora chathamica —coastal kowhai Sophora chrysophylla —Māmane Sophora davidi Sophora denudata Sophora dunii Sophora exigua Sophora fernandeziana
- * var. fernandeziana
- * var. reedeana Sophora flavescens —ku shen
- * var. flavescens
- * var. galegoides
- * var. kronei Sophora franchetiana Sophora fraseri Sophora fulvida —Waitakere kowhai Sophora gibbosa Sophora godleyi—Godley kowhai, papa kowhai Sophora howinsula —lignum vitae, Lord Howe kowhaiSophora huamotensis Sophora inhambanensis Sophora interrupta Sophora jaubertii Sophora koreensis – Korean necklace podSophora leachiana Sophora linearifolia Sophora longicarinata —limestone kowhai Sophora longipes Sophora macnabiana Sophora macrocarpa — mayo or mayú Sophora mangarevaensis Sophora masafuerana Sophora microcarpa Sophora microphylla —small-leaved kowhai Sophora mollis
- * subsp. griffithii
- * subsp. mollis Sophora molloyi—Cook Strait Kowhai Sophora moorcroftiana Sophora nuttalliana Sophora oblongata Sophora pachycarpa Sophora praetorulosa Sophora prostrata —dwarf kowhai, prostrate kowhai Sophora raivavaeensis Sophora rapaensis Sophora reedeana Sophora rhynchocarpa Sophora saxicola Sophora secundiflora, a popular landscape plant, was reclassified to Dermatophyllum secundiflorum.Sophora songarica Sophora stenophylla Sophora tetraptera —large-leaved kowhai, Taupo kowhai Sophora tomentosa —necklace pod
- * subsp. littoralis
- * subsp. occidentalis
- * subsp. tomentosa Sophora tonkinensis Sophora toromiro —toromiro Sophora velutina
- * subsp. cavaleriei
- * subsp. velutina
- * subsp. zimbabweensis Sophora violacea Sophora wightii 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''