''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 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'' (
pagoda tree genus), which differs in lacking
nitrogen fixing 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'' (the mescalbeans). ''Styphnolobium'' has
galactomannans 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'' 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,
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:
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)
* '' Sophora chrysophylla'' —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'' —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 podFrench 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'' —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
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'' —large-leaved kowhai, Taupo kowhai (New Zealand)
* '' Sophora tomentosa'' —necklace pod ( Pantropical 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:
References
External links
*
*
''Sophora macrocarpa'' pictures from ''Chilebosque''
{{Authority control
Fabaceae genera
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus