THE ART ALBUM OF NEW ZEALAND FLORA. 



117 



1. SOPHORA TETRAPTERA {Alton). The Eour-winged Fruited Soi)hora. 



Specific Chabactee. — Leaves exstipulate, 1-6 in. long ; 

 petiole slender or stout, coTered with silky or ferruginous liairs ; 

 leaflets, *J-40 pairs, very variable — from broadly obci-'rdate to 

 linear-oblong, ^-^ in, long, rounded retuse, or 2-lobed at the 

 tip, on young plants, smaller, broader, glabrous, luenibranous ; 

 and in old, silky, or densely villous on one or both surfaces. 

 Flowers, 1-2 in. long, yellow, in axillary, pendulous, 4-8- 

 flowered racemes; peduncles short; pedicels, i-la in. long, 



Hexuose, and calyx densely silky. Calyx rather gibbous, i-| in. 

 long, hemispherical or urceolate; mouth very oblique. Standard 

 hardly reilected, always &hort, obtuse. Wings Hnear-oblong. 

 Keel nearly straight. Pods, 1-5 in. long, the joints oblong, 

 4-angled with 4 membranous wings, the outer walls separating 

 from the coriaceous inner. Valves hardly deliiscent. Seeds, 

 oblong, pale yellow-brown; cotyledons almost consolidated. 

 — Handbook of the Netc Zealand Flora, p. 53, 



Description, etc., Plate No. 28.— The "YELLOW KOAVHAI."— This species is 

 abundant throughout both islands, and is foimd varvinof in size from a small shrub to a 

 tree thirty or forty feet high, with a trunk from one to three feet in diameter. It 

 ascends to a height of 2,000 feet above sea level ; and it is observable that it differs 

 much in habit, foliage, size and colour of flower, according to locality. It generally 

 blossoms in the months of September and October, but sometimes earlier, and has been 

 known in Poverty Bay to l)loom as early as Jvily, but such a phenomenon is of rare 

 occurence, and probably attrilnitable to the influence of a mild season. The wood 

 of the "Kowhai" closely resembles the European " Laburnum," and possesses great 

 strength. It has occasionally been used for railway sleepers, piles, house-blocks, survey 

 pegs, etc., and is everywhere valued for its great durability. Tlie heart wood is red in 

 colour, and where used as house-blocks, fencing posts, and piles, has been known to last 

 in a sound state for over twenty years. The appearance of the " Kowhai" when in full 

 bloom is extremely pretty and striking, its masses of pendulous golden flowers presenting 

 a unique and striking picture in the landscape, more particularly as at that season it 

 divests itself of its foliage, or nearly so, except in certain damp situations, where 

 it is to .some extent retained, as presented in our graphic plate of this species. The 

 varieties are : — Grandiflora, a larger and more robust plant, with large flowers two 

 inches long ; and Microphylla, a plant with smaller flowers and of less robust habit ; 

 but these characters are not permanent, and many intermediate states exist. 'J'he variety 

 IBcrophylla, and forms approaching GraniMJlora, are common on the Island of Juan 

 Pernandez and in South Chili. The specific name Tetraptera is due to the four-angled 

 and four-winged construction of the seed pods, \\ hich is clearly shewn on our plate. 

 The plant may easily be raised from seed, and is very hardy. 





