''Sophora'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of about 45

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s and

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s in the pea

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Fabaceae. The species have a

pantropical A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both the Eastern and Western hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and ''Bacopa''. ''Neotropical' ...

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 genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It includes nine species of small trees and shrubs native to China and to the Americas, from the southern United States to Colombia. It belongs to subfamily Faboideae, ...

'' (

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 deciduous tree in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. It was formerly incl ...

genus), which differs in lacking

nitrogen fixing Nitrogen fixation is a chemical process by which molecular dinitrogen () is converted into ammonia (). It occurs both biologically and abiologically in chemical industries. Biological nitrogen fixation or ''diazotrophy'' is catalyzed by en ...

bacteria (

rhizobia Rhizobia are diazotrophic bacteria that fix nitrogen after becoming established inside the root nodules of legumes (Fabaceae). To express genes for nitrogen fixation, rhizobia require a plant host; they cannot independently fix nitrogen. I ...

) on the roots, and ''

Dermatophyllum ''Dermatophyllum''/Sophora secundiflois a genus of three or four species of shrubs and small trees in the family Fabaceae. The genus is native to southwestern North America from western Texas to New Mexico and Arizona in the United States, and so ...

'' (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-linked ...

s as seed

polysaccharide Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long-chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with wat ...

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 ...

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 20–25% of it. Because of its tightly packed Helix, helical struct ...

. The New Zealand ''Sophora'' species are known as kowhai. The seeds of species such as ''Sophora affinis'' and ''

Sophora chrysophylla ''Sophora chrysophylla'', known as ''māmane'' in Hawaiian language, Hawaiian, is a species of flowering plant in the pea and bean family, Fabaceae, that is Endemism, endemic to Hawaii. It is highly Polymorphism (biology), polymorphic, growing a ...

'' 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 preserve ...

seed pod from the middle Eocene epoch 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 Virgin ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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 Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

) * '' Sophora chathamica'' —coastal kowhai (New Zealand) * ''

'' —Māmane (

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

) * '' Sophora davidi'' * '' Sophora denudata'' * '' Sophora dunii'' * '' Sophora exigua'' * '' Sophora fernandeziana'' (

Juan Fernández Islands The Juan Fernández Islands () 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 islands: Robinson Crusoe Island, R ...

) ** var. ''fernandeziana'' ** var. ''reedeana'' * '' Sophora flavescens'' —ku shen (Eastern Asia) ** var. ''flavescens'' ** var. ''galegoides'' ** var. ''kronei'' * '' Sophora franchetiana'' * '' Sophora fraseri'' * ''

Sophora fulvida ''Sophora fulvida'', the kōwhai or west coast kōwhai is one of 8 species of native ''Sophora'' or kōwhai in New Zealand and grows naturally around the Northland Region, Northland, Auckland and Waikato regions of New Zealand. Under the New Ze ...

'' —Waitakere kowhai (New Zealand) * '' Sophora gibbosa'' * ''

Sophora godleyi ''Sophora godleyi'', also known as Godley's kōwhai, papa kōwhai or Rangitikei kōwhai, grows naturally in the west of the North Island of New Zealand from Te Kūiti to Manawatū. It is one of eight recognised species of kōwhai and was descr ...

''—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 French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...

) * '' Sophora masafuerana'' (Juan Fernández Islands) * '' Sophora microcarpa'' * ''

Sophora microphylla ''Sophora microphylla'', commonly known as weeping kōwhai and small-leaved kōwhai, is a species of flowering tree in the family Fabaceae native to New Zealand. It is the most widespread of the eight species of kōwhai (the New Zealand ''Sophora ...

'' —small-leaved kowhai (New Zealand) * '' Sophora mollis'' ** subsp. ''griffithii'' ** subsp. ''mollis'' * ''

Sophora molloyi ''Sophora molloyi'', the Cook Strait kōwhai, Molloy's kōwhai or Stephen's Island kōwhai, one of 8 species of kōwhai native to New Zealand, grows naturally around the Cook Strait region. It was first described as a species in 2001 and named ...

''—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 Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

) * ''Sophora secundiflora'', a popular landscape plant, was reclassified to '' Dermatophyllum secundiflorum''. * '' Sophora songarica'' * '' Sophora stenophylla'' * ''

Sophora tetraptera ''Sophora tetraptera'', commonly known as large-leaved kōwhai, is a tree that grows naturally in the central east of the North Island of New Zealand. It has larger, more widely spaced, leaflets than the other seven species of kōwhai. Etymolog ...

'' —large-leaved kowhai, Taupo kowhai (New Zealand) * '' Sophora tomentosa'' —necklace pod (

Pantropical A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both the Eastern and Western hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and ''Bacopa''. ''Neotropical' ...

on coasts) ** subsp. ''littoralis'' ** subsp. ''occidentalis'' ** subsp. ''tomentosa'' * ''

Sophora tonkinensis ''Sophora tonkinensis'' is a herb used in traditional Chinese medicine. Sofalcone is an oral gastrointestinal medication and a synthetic derivative of sophoradin Sophoradin is an isoprenyl chalconoid, a type of polyphenolic compound, found ...

'' * '' Sophora toromiro'' —toromiro (

Easter Island Easter Island (, ; , ) 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 renowned for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, ...

) * '' Sophora velutina'' ** subsp. ''cavaleriei'' ** subsp. ''velutina'' ** subsp. ''zimbabweensis'' * '' Sophora violacea'' * '' Sophora wightii'' (

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

) * '' 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''
{{Authority control Fabaceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus