''Styphnolobium'' is a small genus of three or four species of small
trees and
shrub
A shrub (often also called a 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 ...
s in the subfamily
Faboideae of the pea family
, formerly included within a broader interpretation of the genus ''
Sophora''. It was recently assigned to the unranked,
monophyletic
In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...
''Cladrastis'' clade.
They differ from the genus ''
Calia
''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 ...
'' (mescalbeans) in having
deciduous leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
and
flowers in axillary, not terminal,
raceme
A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...
s. The leaves are
pinnate, with 9–21 leaflets, and the flowers in pendulous racemes similar to those of the
black locust. Necklacepod is a common name for plants in this genus.
Etymology
From
Greek ''styphno-'', ''stryphno-'' "sour, astringent" and ''lobion'' "pod", because of the fresh pods' pulp taste.
Species
''Styphnolobium'' comprises the following species:
Section ''Oresbios''
* ''
Styphnolobium affine
''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 t ...
''
(Torr. & A. Gray) Walp., the coralbean or Eve's necklace is native to the southern
United States in
Texas,
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
,
Arkansas and
Louisiana. It is a large shrub or small tree, growing to 5–7 m tall, with white or pale violet flowers. The seeds of this species are believed to be poisonous. The sapwood leaches a yellow dye on contact with water.
* ''
Styphnolobium burseroides
''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 t ...
''
M. Sousa & Rudd
* ''
Styphnolobium caudatum
''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 t ...
''
M. Sousa & Rudd is native to
Nicaragua.
* ''
Styphnolobium conzattii''
(Standl.) M. Sousa & Rudd
* ''
Styphnolobium monteviridis''
M. Sousa & Rudd is native to
Central America.
* ''
Styphnolobium parviflorum''
M. Sousa & Rudd
* ''
Styphnolobium protantherum''
M. Sousa & Rudd
* ''
Styphnolobium sporadicum''
M. Sousa & Rudd
Section ''Styphnolobium''
* ''
Styphnolobium japonicum''
(L.) Schott, the pagoda tree (Chinese Scholar, Japanese pagodatree; syn. ''Sophora japonica''), is native to eastern
Asia (mainly
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
; despite the name, it is introduced in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
), is a popular ornamental tree in
Europe,
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
and
South Africa, grown for its white flowers, borne in late summer after most other flowering trees have long finished flowering. It grows into a lofty tree 10–20 m tall with an equal spread, and produces a fine, dark brown timber.
Uses
The pagoda tree is widely used in
bonsai
Bonsai ( ja, 盆栽, , tray planting, ) is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of ''penjing''. Unlike ''penjing'', which utilizes traditional techniques to produce ...
gardening. The
Guilty Chinese Scholartree
The zuihuai () is a specimen of the pagoda tree (''Styphnolobium japonicum'') located in Jingshan Park, Beijing, China. It is a tourist attraction and national landmark in Jingshan Park. The Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youjian, the last ruler of the Mi ...
was a historic pagoda tree in
Beijing, on which the last emperor of the
Ming Dynasty,
Chongzhen, hanged himself.
''Styphnolobium japonicum'' (Chinese:
槐; pinyin: huái; formerly ''Sophora japonica'') is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in
traditional Chinese medicine.
References
External links
''Styphnolobium japonicum'' (as ''Sophora japonica'')The Evil God in the Pagoda Tree
Japanese folktale with the Pagoda Tree at hyakumonogatari.com
{{Taxonbar, from=Q11815640
Faboideae
Fabaceae genera
Medicinal plants
Flora of the United States