Sophora
(altered from Sophero, the Arabic name for a papilionaceous-flowered tree). Including Edwardsia and Styphnolobium. ORD. Leguminosae. A genus comprising about twenty-two species of stove, greenhouse, or hardy, evergreen or deciduous trees, shrubs, or rarely perennial herbs, inhabiting the warmer regions of the globe. Flowers white, yellow, or rarely bluish-violet, disposed in simple, terminal racemes, or in a terminal, leafy panicle; calyx teeth short; standard broadly obovate or orbicular, erect or spreading; stamens free or rarely nearly connate in a ring at the base; bracts small; bracteoles none. Pods moniliform, compressed. Leaves imparipinnate; leaflets indefinite, small, exstipellate. The hardy and half-hardy species thrive in well-drained sandy loam, and are most readily raised from imported seeds. The variegated and weeping forms of S. japonica must be grafted on the green-leaved type. S. tetraptera and S. t. microphylla flower freely in many places when planted against a sunny wall, in sheltered spots in the open air; and in the South-west, they do well as standard trees, without the shelter of a wall. The best-known species are described below.
S. bifolia (two-leaved). A synonym of Ammodendron Sieversii. S. chrysophylla (golden-leaved). fl. yellow, axillary, in short, racemose spikes; petals of the keel elliptic, with the dorsal margin straight. May and June. l., leaflets seventeen, o' ovate; younger ones clothed with yellow pubescence. h. 6ft. to 10ft. Sandwich Islands. Greenhouse, deciduous shrub. SYN. Edwardsia chrysophylla (B. R. 738).
S. glauca (glaucous). fl. pale purple, in long, racemose spikes; petals imbricated; standard bifid. May and June. l., leaflets twenty-three, alternate, elliptic, mucronate, velvety on both surfaces, as well as the peduncles and branches. h. 4ft. to 6ft. Nepaul, 1820. A very showy, half-hardy, deciduous shrub. SYN. S. velutina (B. R. 1185). S. heptaphylla (seven-leaved). fl. yellow; racemes opposite, about as long as the leaves. October. l., leaflets alternate or nearly opposite, usually three or four on each side, oblong or obovate-oblong, slightly acuminate, rounded or slightly acute at base, hairy-pubescent beneath, 1in. to 3in. long. h. 6ft. Neilgherries, &c., 1830. Hardy, deciduous shrub or small tree. S. japonica (Japanese).* Chinese or Japanese Pagoda-tree. fl. whitish or cream-coloured, small; panicles loosely-branched, terminal, large. August and September. l. graceful, deep bluish-green, pinnate; leaflets eleven to thirteen, oblong-ovate, acute. Naked young wood dark green. h. 30ft. to 40ft. China, 1763. A very handsome, hardy, deciduous tree. China and Japan. (A. B. R. 585.) SYN. Styphnolobium japonicum.
S. j. pendula (pendulous). An exceedingly beautiful tree of the "weeping" class.
S. j. variegata (variegated). A form with variegated leaves, but not particularly ornamental.
S. macrocarpa (large-fruited). fl. yellow; racemes short, axillary. April. Pods silky, wingless. l., leaflets thirteen to nineteen, elliptic-oblong, obtuse, coriaceous, silky beneath. h. 8ft. to 10ft. Chili, 1822. An elegant, greenhouse, evergreen shrub. (L. B. C. 1125.) SYN. Edwardsia chilensis (B. R. 1798).
S. secundiflora (side-flowering).* fl. violet, rather large, secund; racemes terminal, crowded. June. l., leaflets nine to thirteen, elliptic-oblong, obtuse, coriaceous, smoothish. h. 6ft. Mexico, 1820. A beautiful, greenhouse, evergreen shrub. (R. H. 1854, 201.) S. tetraptera (four-winged).* fl. yellow, 1in. to 2in. long; wings linear-oblong; racemes axillary, pendulous, four to eight-flowered. May. l. 1in. to 6in. long; leaflets six to forty pairs, broadly obcordate to linear-oblong, 1/4in. to 3/4in. long, rounded, retuse, or two-lobed at the tip, silky or densely villous on old plants. h. 6ft. to 12ft. New Zealand, 1772. Half-hardy, deciduous tree. (G. C. n. s., ix. 729.) S. t. grandiflora (large-flowered). Kowhai. fl. 2in. long, narrower than in the type. l., leaflets ten to thirty pairs, usually narrow. Trunk sometimes 1ft. to 3ft. in diameter. A large and robust variety. (B. M. 167, under name of S. tetraptera.) S. t. microphylla (small-leaved). New Zealand Laburnum. fl. 1in. to 1 1/2in. long, broader than in the species. l., leaflets on old plants thirty to forty pairs, oblong-obcordate. Young branches very slender and flexuous, with few obcordate, membranous leaflets. SYNS. Edwardsia Macnabiana (B. M. 3735), E. microphylla (B. M. 1442.) S. tomentosa (tomentose). fl. yellow, showy; racemes elongated. August. Pods stipitate, 5in. long. l., leaflets eleven to seventeen, oblong, coriaceous, becoming smooth above. h. 4ft. to 6ft. North America, &c., 1739. A half-hardy, deciduous, hoary-tomentose shrub. (B. M. 3390.) S. velutina (velvety). A synonym of S. glauca.