Sophora 



39 



specimen, which is about 30 feet high with a stem a foot in diameter, bearing a large 

 roundish crown like the common Sophora. In the absence of flowers or fruit, it is 

 impossible to say whether it is a distinct species ; but in foliage and other characters 

 it differs so little from Sophora japonica, that probably ZabeP is correct in considering 

 it to be only a form of that species. It seems to be well worth cultivation, judging 

 from the vigorous growth and dense foliage of the fine specimen at Segrez. 



Van violacea. This variety has also whitish pubescence on the shoots, 

 petiole, and under surfaces of the leaflets, which are longish, with an acute or 

 acuminate apex. The flowers are violet according to Dieck.^ It does not appear to 

 be in cultivation in England. 



I incline to the belief that we have in these forms to deal with only two varieties 

 of Sophora japonica, which is a widely spread species, and presents considerable 

 variation in pubescence and in colour of the flowers in China. 



Var. oligophylla, Franchet* This is a curious variety found by Pere David at 

 a tomb near Peking, where he observed two trees. The leaflets are very few in 

 number, three or four, and the end one is trilobed ; they are thicker in texture 

 and more glaucous than is ordinarily the case. This variety would be well worth 

 introduction. 



Distribution and History 



Sophora japonica, in spite of its name, does not appear to be really wild in 

 Japan, although it is recorded from that country by Franchet * and Matsumura.* 

 Shirasawa,' the latest Japanese authority, says it is planted around habitations in both 

 the sub-tropical and temperate regions of Japan, and that it was introduced from 

 China. Sargent^ observes: "Even Rein {The Industries of Japan), usually a 

 most careful observer, states that ' Sophora japonica is scattered throughout the 

 entire country, especially in the foliaceous forests of the north.' He had evidently 

 confounded Sophora with Maackia,* a common and widely spread tree, especially in 

 Yezo. Sophora, which is only seen occasionally in gardens, does not appear to be 

 a particularly popular tree with the Japanese." The Kew Herbarium specimens from 

 Japan are from gardens near Nagasaki, no wild specimens having been ever received. 



Sophora japonica is undoubtedly a native of China, and it is recorded from 

 nearly all the provinces where Europeans have made botanical collections ; but of 

 its occurrence as a forest tree there is little information. It appears to be really 

 wild in the province of Chihli. I have never seen it in the numerous mountain 

 forests which I visited in Central China or Yunnan ; and it is difficult to decide 

 whether the trees seen at lower levels, where cultivation has been going on for 

 centuries, are wild or planted. It has a wide range as a cultivated plant in China, 

 as it flourishes from Pekin to Hongkong and from Shanghai to Yunnan. 



' See note 5 supra. ^ Kohne, loc. cit. ' Franchet, Planta Davidiance, i. 100 (1884). 



' Franchet et Savatier, Enum. Plant, in Japonia, i. 1 15. ' Matsumura, Shokubutsu-nitt-i, 279 (1895). 



* Shirasawa, loc. cit., Text, i. 86. The tree is called Enju in Japan. ' Sargent, Forest Flora of Japan, I. 



' Maackia is another name for Cladraslis amurensis ; but it is possible that the tree confused with Sophora japonica in 

 Japan is Sophora platycarpa, Maxim, which is very similar to it in foliage. Dupont, Les Essences Forestiires du Japon, p. 66, 

 gives a very complete account of the wood and the uses of a forest tree in Japan, which he considered to be Sophora japonica ; 

 but as it is evidently not that species, and as it is uncertain whether he referred to Sophora platycarpa or Cladrastis amurensis, 

 I have not quoted his description. 



