''Sophora'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of about 45
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of small
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s and
shrubs in the pea
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Fabaceae. The species have a
pantropical
A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and ''Bacopa''.
''Neotropical'' is a zoogeographic term ...
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
''Styphnolobium'' is a small genus of three or four species of small trees and shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae, formerly included within a broader interpretation of the genus '' Sophora''. It was recently assigned to ...
'' (
pagoda tree
''Styphnolobium japonicum'', the Japanese pagoda tree (also known as the Chinese scholar tree and pagoda tree; syn. ''Sophora japonica'') is a species of tree in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae.
It was formerly included with ...
genus), which differs in lacking
nitrogen fixing
Nitrogen fixation is a chemical process by which molecular nitrogen (), with a strong triple covalent bond, in the air is converted into ammonia () or related nitrogenous compounds, typically in soil or aquatic systems but also in industry. Atmo ...
bacteria (
rhizobia) on the roots, and ''
Dermatophyllum
''Dermatophyllum'' is a genus of three or four species of shrubs and small trees in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family, Fabaceae. The genus is native to southwestern North America from western Texas to New Mexico and Arizona in the United ...
'' (the mescalbeans). ''Styphnolobium'' has
galactomannan
Galactomannans are polysaccharides consisting of a mannose backbone with galactose side groups, more specifically, a (1-4)-linked beta-D-mannopyranose backbone with branchpoints from their 6-positions linked to alpha-D-galactose, (i.e. 1-6-linke ...
s as seed
polysaccharide reserve, in contrast ''Sophora'' contains
arabinogalactan
Arabinogalactan, also known as galactoarabinan, larch arabinogalactan, and larch gum, is a biopolymer consisting of arabinose and galactose monosaccharides. Two classes of arabinogalactans are found in nature: plant arabinogalactan and microbial a ...
s, and ''Dermatophyllum''
amylose
Amylose is a polysaccharide made of α-D-glucose units, bonded to each other through α(1→4) glycosidic bonds. It is one of the two components of starch, making up approximately 20–30%. Because of its tightly packed helical structure, amylose ...
.
The New Zealand ''Sophora'' species are known as
kowhai.
The seeds of species such as ''Sophora affinis'' and ''
Sophora chrysophylla'' are reported to be poisonous.
Fossil record
One ''Sophora''
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
seed pod from the middle
Eocene epoch
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "daw ...
has been described from the Miller clay pit in
Henry County, Tennessee
Henry County is a county located on the northwestern border of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and is considered part of West Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,199. Its county seat is Paris. The county is named for the Virgi ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
Species
''Sophora'' comprises the following species:
* ''
Sophora albescens''
( Rehder) C.Y. Ma
* ''
Sophora albo-petiolulata''
Léonard
* ''
Sophora alopecuroides''
L.—sophora root
* ''
Sophora bakeri''
Prain
* ''
Sophora benthamii''
Steenis
* ''
Sophora brachygyna''
C.Y. Ma
* ''
Sophora cassioides''
( Phil.) Sparre—Pelú (
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
)
* ''
Sophora chathamica''
Cockayne
Cockaigne or Cockayne () is a land of plenty in medieval myth, an imaginary place of extreme luxury and ease where physical comforts and pleasures are always immediately at hand and where the harshness of medieval peasant life does not exist. S ...
—coastal kowhai (New Zealand)
* ''
Sophora chrysophylla''
( Salisb.) Seem.
Berthold Carl Seemann (25 February 1825, in Hanover, Germany – 10 October 1871, in Nicaragua, Central America), was a German botanist. He travelled widely and collected and described plants from the Pacific and South America.
In 1844 he trave ...
—Māmane (
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
)
* ''
Sophora davidii''
(Franch.) Kom. ex Pavol.
* ''
Sophora denudata''
Bory
* ''
Sophora dunnii''
Craib
* ''
Sophora exigua''
Craib
* ''
Sophora fernandeziana''
(Phil.) Skottsb. (
Juan Fernández Islands
The Juan Fernández Islands ( es, Archipiélago Juan Fernández) are a sparsely inhabited series of islands in the South Pacific Ocean reliant on tourism and fishing. Situated off the coast of Chile, they are composed of three main volcanic i ...
)
** var. ''fernandeziana''
(Phil.) Skottsb.
** var. ''reedeana''
(R.A.Phillips) Skottsb.
* ''
Sophora flavescens
''Sophora flavescens'', the shrubby sophora, is a species of plant in the genus '' Sophora'' of the family Fabaceae. This genus contains about 52 species, nineteen varieties, and seven forms that are widely distributed in Asia, Oceania, and the ...
''
Aiton—ku shen (Eastern Asia)
** var. ''flavescens''
Aiton
** var. ''galegoides''
(Pall.) DC.
** var. ''kronei''
(Hance) C.Y.Ma
* ''
Sophora franchetiana''
Dunn
* ''
Sophora fraseri''
Benth.
* ''
Sophora fulvida''
(Allan) Heenan & de Lange—Waitakere kowhai (New Zealand)
* ''
Sophora godleyi''—Godley kowhai, papa kowhai (New Zealand)
* ''
Sophora howinsula''
( W.R.B.Oliv.) P.S.Green —lignum vitae, Lord Howe kowhai
* ''
Sophora inhambanensis''
Klotzsch
* ''
Sophora interrupta''
Bedd.
* ''
Sophora jaubertii''
Spach
* ''
Sophora koreensis''
Nakai – Korean necklace pod
* ''
Sophora lanaiensis''
(Chock) O. Deg. & I. Deg.
* ''
Sophora leachiana''
M. Peck
* ''
Sophora linearifolia''
Griseb.
* ''
Sophora longicarinata''
(G.Simpson) Allan—limestone kowhai (New Zealand)
* ''
Sophora longipes''
Merr.
* ''
Sophora macrocarpa''
Sm.
__NOTOC__
Sir James Edward Smith (2 December 1759 – 17 March 1828) was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society.
Early life and education
Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He displayed a ...
—mayo or mayú (Chile)
* ''
Sophora mangarevaensis''
H.St.John (
French Polynesia)
* ''
Sophora masafuerana''
(Phil.) Skottsb. (Juan Fernández Islands)
* ''
Sophora microcarpa''
C.Y. Ma
* ''
Sophora microphylla''
Aiton—small-leaved kowhai (New Zealand)
* ''
Sophora molloyi''—Cook Strait Kowhai (New Zealand)
* ''
Sophora mollis''
(Royle) Baker
** subsp. ''griffithii''
(Stocks) Ali
** subsp. ''mollis''
(Royle) Baker
* ''
Sophora moorcroftiana''
(Benth.) Baker
* ''
Sophora nuttalliana''
B.L. Turner
* ''
Sophora pachycarpa''
Schrenk ex C.A.Mey.
* ''
Sophora polyphylla''
Urb.
* ''
Sophora praetorulosa''
Chun & T. Chen
* ''
Sophora prazeri''
Prain
** var. ''mairei''
(Pamp.) P.C.Tsoong
** var. ''prazeri''
Prain
* ''
Sophora prostrata''
Buchanan—dwarf kowhai, prostrate kowhai (New Zealand)
* ''
Sophora raivavaeensis''
H.St.John (French Polynesia)
* ''
Sophora rapaensis''
H.St.John (French Polynesia)
* ''
Sophora rhynchocarpa''
Griseb.
* ''
Sophora saxicola''
Proctor (
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
)
* ''Sophora secundiflora'', a popular landscape plant, was reclassified to ''
Dermatophyllum secundiflorum
''Dermatophyllum secundiflorum'' is a species of flowering shrub or small tree in the family Fabaceae that is native to the Southwestern United States (Texas, New Mexico) and Mexico ( Chihuahua and Coahuila south to Hidalgo, Puebla, and Que ...
''.
* ''
Sophora stenophylla''
A. Gray
* ''
Sophora tetraptera''
J.F. Mill.—large-leaved kowhai, Taupo kowhai (New Zealand)
* ''
Sophora tomentosa
Sophora tomentosa, also known as necklacepod, yellow necklacepod, and occasionally as silver bush, is a pantropical shrub or small tree in the family Fabaceae. It commonly ranges in height from 4 to 10 feet and often occurs in coastal conditions ...
''
L.—necklace pod (
Pantropical
A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and ''Bacopa''.
''Neotropical'' is a zoogeographic term ...
on coasts)
** subsp. ''littoralis''
(Schrad.) Yakovlev
** subsp. ''occidentalis''
(L.) Brummitt
** subsp. ''tomentosa''
L.
* ''
Sophora tonkinensis''
Gagnep.
* ''
Sophora toromiro
''Sophora toromiro'', commonly known as toromiro, is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to Easter Island.
History
Heavy deforestation had eliminated most of the island's forests by the first half of the ...
''
Skottsb.—toromiro (
Easter Island
Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its ne ...
)
* ''
Sophora unifoliata''
(Rock) O. Deg. & Sherff
* ''
Sophora velutina''
Lindl.
** subsp. ''cavaleriei''
(H.Lev.) Brummitt & J.B.Gillett
** subsp. ''velutina''
Lindl.
** subsp. ''zimbabweensis''
J. B. Gillett & Brummitt
* ''
Sophora violacea''
Thwaites
* ''
Sophora wightii''
Baker (
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
)
* ''
Sophora xanthoantha''
C.Y. Ma
* ''
Sophora yunnanensis''
C.Y. Ma
* ''
Sophora zeylanica''
Trimen
Species names with uncertain taxonomic status
The status of the following species is unresolved:
* ''Sophora albicans''
J.St.-Hil.
* ''Sophora ambigua''
P.C.Tsoong
* ''Sophora angulata''
(Hook. & Arn.) Ravenna
* ''Sophora angustifolia''
Q.Q.Liu & H.Y.Ye
* ''Sophora biflora''
Houtt.
* ''Sophora biflora''
Retz.
* ''Sophora buxifolia''
Retz.
* ''Sophora chathamica''
Cockayne
* ''Sophora coerulea''
Moench
* ''Sophora cuneifolia''
Steud.
* ''Sophora davidii''
(Franch.) Skeels
* ''Sophora donihuensis''
Ravenna
* ''Sophora fulvida''
(Allan) Heenan & de Lange
* ''Sophora genistaefolia''
Salisb.
* ''Sophora genistoides''
L.
* ''Sophora glabra''
Moench
* ''Sophora glabra''
Hassk.
* ''Sophora godleyi''
Heenan & de Lange
* ''Sophora grandiflora''
(Salisb.) Skottsb.
* ''Sophora grisea''
O.Deg. & Sherff
* ''Sophora hirsuta''
Aiton
* ''Sophora houghiana''
Wall.
* ''Sophora howinsula''
(W.R.B. Oliv.) P. Green
* ''Sophora jabandas''
Montrouz.
* ''Sophora juncea''
Schrad.
* ''Sophora ludovice-Adecim-Asexta''
Buc'hoz
* ''Sophora mangarevaensis''
H.St.John
* ''Sophora mecosperma''
J.St.-Hil.
* ''Sophora molloyi''
Heenan & de Lange
* ''Sophora molokaiensis''
O. Degener & I. Degener
* ''Sophora mutabilis''
Salisb.
* ''Sophora myrtillifolia''
Retz.
* ''Sophora oblongata''
P.C.Tsoong
* ''Sophora oblongifolia''
Ruiz & Pav.
* ''Sophora oligophylla''
Baker
* ''Sophora pendula''
Spach
* ''Sophora pentaphylla''
Desv.
* ''Sophora persica''
(Boiss. & Buhse) Rech.f.
* ''Sophora praetorulosa''
Chun & T.C. Chen
* ''Sophora raivavaeensis''
H.St.John
* ''Sophora rapaensis''
H.St.John
* ''Sophora robinoides''
Walp.
* ''Sophora senegalensis''
Deless. ex DC.
* ''Sophora sibirica''
Holub
* ''Sophora sinica''
Rosier
* ''Sophora sinuata''
Larrañaga
* ''Sophora sororia''
Hance
* ''Sophora sumatrana''
Yakovlev
* ''Sophora sylvatica''
Burch.
* ''Sophora tetraptera''
J. Miller
* ''Sophora tiloebsis''
Blume ex Miq.
* ''Sophora tiloensis''
Blume ex Miq.
* ''Sophora trifolia''
Steud.
* ''Sophora triphylla''
Sweet
* ''Sophora vanioti''
H. Lév.
* ''Sophora vestita''
Nakai
* ''Sophora viciifolis''
Hance
References
External links
''Sophora macrocarpa'' pictures from ''Chilebosque''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q309213
Fabaceae genera
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus