530 LEGUMINOSAE. [ Sophora. 
Young trees with divaricating and usually much interlaced branches. 
Flowers in 4—6-flowered axillary racemes 1-l4 in. long. Standard narrower 
than S. tetraptera, as long as the wings or nearly so, shortly clawed at the 
base, hardly reflexed. Wings narrow-oblong, shortly clawed at the base. 
Pod much as in S. ietraptera.—Bot. Mag. t. 1442. Sophora tetraptera 
var. microphylla Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 53; 2. Kirk Forest Fl. 
(1889) t. 51; Students’ Fl. (1899) 122; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 
123. §. chathamica Cockayne in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxxiv (1902) 319 (name 
only). Edwardsia microphylla Salisb. in Trans. Linn. Soc. ix (1808) 299 ; 
A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. (1832) 344; A. Cunn. Precur. (1839) n. 570. 
EK. grandiflora var. microphylla Hook. f. #l. Nov. Zel. 1 (1853) 52. 
NortH AND SoutH Istanps: From the North Cape to Southland, not uncommon, 
particularly by the banks of rivers, &c. Sea-level to 2500 ft. Kowhai. October— 
November. 
The most widely distributed species, and the most variable. Mr. Kirk has 
characterized, in his ‘‘ Forest Flora,’ a variety in which both leaves and flowers are 
unusually small; and another form exists on Banks Peninsula which seems to approach 
S. tetraptera. I regret that I do not possess sufficient material to justify me in 
expressing a decided opinion regarding either of them. 
A remarkable variety, of which a single plant, originally brought from limestone 
rocks in the Takaka district, Nelson, is now cultivated in Mr. Treadwell’s garden at 
Wellington, has very slender branchlets bearing leaves 3-4in. long, with extremely 
small pinnae from ,4, to } in. long. These are obovate or oblong-obovate, obtuse, and 
when young are covered with soft fulvous tomentum. ‘The flowers are as large as or 
even slightly larger than those of typical S. microphylla. I have only seen three pods, 
of which one has a single cell, one two cells, and the remaining one three. If specimens 
from the original locality conform to the above characters, I think that this plant is 
at least worthy of varietal distinction, in which case it should bear the name of 
S. Treadwellir. 
S. microphylla has been recorded from Easter Island, the Juan Fernandez Group, 
and Chile. But Dr. Skottsberg, in his two excellent publications on the florulas of 
Easter Island and Juan Fernandez (which are well worth the attention of New Zealand 
botanists), finds that the Easter Island Sophora is a distinct species, known as 
S. toromiro. Dr. Skottsberg records two species of Sophora from the Juan Fernandez 
Group—S. Fernandeziana Phil. and S. Masafuezana Skottsberg. He also gives a full 
account of their differences from 8. microphylla. The exigencies of space prevent me 
from quoting this in full; but it may be remarked that both the Easter Island and 
Juan Fernandez species differ from S. microphylla in the unwinged pods. With respect 
to Chile, Dr. Skottsberg states, “‘ No specimen from Chile that I have come across 
matches S. microphylla, but all are very like it in most respects.” 
3. S. prostrata(Buch) in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xvi (1884) 395, t. 36.— 
A much-branched rigid shrub 2-5 ft. high; branches divaricating, often 
interlaced, frequently forming prostrate or depressed sheets not more than 
a foot or two in height. Branchlets stout, zigzag, the younger ones more 
or less silky-pubescent. Leaves 4-$in. long, silky when young, glabrous 
when mature; leaflets 2-4 pairs, $+ in. long, oblong or oblong-ovate, 
sessile or nearly so, obtuse at both ends. Flowers small, solitary or 2-3 
together, $-3 in. long, bright-yellow; calyx silky. Standard hardly shorter 
than the wings. Pod short, 2-3-jointed, downy when young; seeds 2-3, 
large for the size of the pod, reddish-brown or dusky-brown, } in. long or 
slightly more.—Sophora tetraptera var. prostrata 7. Kirk Forest Fl. 
(1889) t. 52; Students’ Fl. (1899) 123; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 128. 
SovutH Istanp: From Marlborough southwards to South Canterbury. Hills in the 
Awatere Valley, Buchanan! J. H. Macmahon! near Cheviot, Haast/ Hurunui River, 
Spencer! Waimakariri Gorge, Cockayne; Banks Peninsula, common on rocky ground, 
R. M. Laing, Cockayne. Altitudinal level 250-2500 ft. Octo ser. 
