SOXERILA 



SOPHORA 



3191 



A very handsome hybrid between the orientalis and margari- 

 tacea groups is called Mme. Paul du Toict. It has the serrate If. 

 and some of the silveriness of S. argentea, with the numberless 

 minute dots of the S. orientalis group. It is much like Robert Sallier, 

 but the central coloring is bronzy as well as silvery and more broken 

 up by the green. 



S. marmordta and S. picturdta of the trade are not accounted 

 forbotanically. WlLHELM MlLLER. 



F. TRACY HrBBARD.f 



SOPHORA (Sophera, Arabian name of a tree with 

 pea-shaped flowers). Including- Styphnoldbium and 

 Edwdrdsia. Leguminbsae. Ornamental woody or rarely 

 herbaceous plants grown chiefly for their attractive 

 flowers and handsome foliage. 



Deciduous or evergreen useful ornamental plants: 

 Ivs. alternate, odd-pinnate with opposite usually small 

 entire Ifts.: fls. pea-like, in racemes or terminal 

 leafy panicles: calyx with 5 short teeth; standard orbic- 

 ular or broadly obovate; stamens 10, free or connate 

 only at the base: pod stalked, almost terete or 4-winged, 

 rarely compressed, few- to many-seeded, moniliform, 

 indehiscent or tardily dehiscent. About 25 species in 

 the temperate and subtropical regions of both hemi- 

 spheres. The fls. andfrs. of S. japonica yield a yellow 

 dye, S. tomentosa has medicinal properties, and the 

 seeds of S. secundiflora contain sophorine, a poisonous 

 alkaloid. S. tetraptera is a valuable timber tree in its 

 native country. 



The spphoras are handsome trees, rarely shrubs or 

 herbs with graceful foliage, evergreen in some species, 

 and with papilionaceous whitish, violet or pink, or 

 yellow flowers in terminal panicles or in racemes, fol- 

 lowed by long and narrow monilifonn pods. Sophora 

 japonica and the shrubby S. viciifolia are hardy as far 

 north as Massachusetts, while S. ajfinis is less hardy. 

 The evergreen species are tender and can be grown only 

 in the southern states and California; they are very 

 showy in spring when they are in bloom; in England 

 they are often planted against a wall, where they can be 

 easily protected against light frost. S. japonica is 

 especially valuable for its late-appearing flowers, which 

 are white and disposed in ample panicles; the foliage is 

 dark green and graceful and the tree is conspicuous in 

 winter on account of its dark green branches. It is 

 sometimes planted as a street tree, as it stands heat and 

 drought well. The sophoras thrive best in well-drained 

 sandy loam but grow fairly well in rather dry soil. 

 Propagation is by seeds and the varieties by grafting on 

 the typical form; "some species are also increased by 

 greenwood cuttings and by layers. 



INDEX. 



affinis, 3. 

 chiltnsis, 7. 

 chrysophylla, 6. 

 columnaris, 2. 

 Daridii, 1. 

 grandiflora, 5. 

 japonica, 2. 

 KoroUcoicii , 2. 

 Macnabiana, 5. 

 macrocarpa, 7. 

 microphylla, 5. 

 Moorcroftiana, 1. 

 pendula, 2. 

 secundiflora, 4. 

 sinensis, 2. 

 tetraptera, 5. 

 tomeniosa, 2. 

 viciifolia, 1. 

 violacea, 2. 



A. Fls. white, violet, 

 or pink. 



B Lfls. y$n. long, 

 or less: spines- 

 cent shritb. 

 1. viciifdlia, 



Hance (S. Ddi"idii, 



Komarov. S. 



Moorcroftiana var. 



Datidii, Franch.). 

 3642. Sophora viciifolia. (XH) Fig. 3642. Spi- 



nescent shrub, to 6 ft., with slender spreading pubes- 

 cent branchlets: Ivs. 1-1 H in. long, short-petioled; Ifts. 

 11-15, sessile, elliptic, obtuse, and mucronulate, pubes- 

 cent beneath, ^-J^in. long: fls. bluish violet or nearly 

 white, about ^in. long, in short, 6-12-fld. racemes 

 terminal on short branchlets; calyx shortly 5-toothed, 



3643. Sophora japonica. (XJi) 



violet; petals of nearly equal length; standard spatula te- 

 obovate, reflexed: pod about 2 in. long, slender, long- 

 beaked, glabrous. June, July. Cent, and W. China. 

 B.M.7883. A.F. 29:155. G.C. III. 36:3. Gn. 68, p. 

 87; 78, p. 469. Gng. 16:3. G.W. 11, p. 139. Graceful 

 shrub; has proved quite hardy at the Arnold Arboretum. 



BB. Lfts. larger: unarmed trees. 

 c. Fls. in large terminal panicles. 

 2. japonica, Linn. (Styphnolobium japdnicum, 

 Schott). JAPAN PAGODA TREE. Figs. 3643, 3644. Tree, 

 attaining 60 ft., with spreading branches, forming a 

 dense round head: Ivs. 7-9 in. long; Ifts. 7-17, distinctly 

 stalked, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, acute, rounded at 

 base, dark green and glossy above, more or less pubes- 

 cent beneath, 1-2 in. long: fls. yellowish white, J^in. 

 long, in loose panicles 15 in. long: pod distinctly stalked, 

 glabrous, terete, 2-3 in. long, %in. broad. July-Sept. 

 China; cult, in Japan. Gn. 24, pp. 210, 211, 214; 29, p. 

 222; 73, p. 43. G.M. 38:665. Gng. 6, p. 247. M.D.G. 

 1898:183. F.E. 12:1174. G.W. 8, p. 615; 12, p. 200; 

 13, p. 243. Var. pendula, Loud. Figs. 3645, 3646. With 

 long and slender pendulous branches. R.H. 1876:194, 

 195 (adapted in Figs. 3645, 3646). Gn. 9. pp. 600, 601; 

 24, pp. 202, 203, 211; 28, p. 27. M.D.G. 1898:182. 

 G. 6:257. Gn.M. 2:106. G.C. III. 28:479. F.E. 14: 

 1430, pi. 43. Var. columnaris, Schwerin. Of narrow 

 pyramidal habit. Var. violacea, Carr. (S. violacea, 

 Dipp., not Thwaites). Lfts. 15-17, sparingly pubescent 

 above, densely so beneath, acute: fls. with pinkish lilac 

 wings and keel, standard white. The plants cult, as S. 

 tomentosa, S. sinensis, and S. Korolkdwii also belong to 

 this species. The first, which is not to be confused with 

 S. tomentosa, Linn, (see suppl. list), has 15-19, smaller 

 and broader, elliptic Ifts. densely pubescent beneath, 

 less so above; the second has pale pink fls. and 11-17 



