Gen. Char. Calyx 5-tootlied, campanulate a t th e base, or somewhat a tte n u ated.
Petals o f th e keel usually concrete a t the apex. Legume somewhat
moniliform, wingless, many-seeded. {Don's M ill.)
Leaves impari-pinnate, with 11 — 13 leaflets, generally exstipulate. Flowers
yellow, white, o r blue, in simple racemes, or panicles. — T h e only hardy
species are deciduous trees, natives o f Japan or Cliina.
this species in
¥ 1 , 5 . j a p o ' n i c a L . The Jap an Sophora.
U e n tifica tio n . I,in . M a n t, VS. ; Dec. P ro d ., 2. p . 98. ; D o n ’s Mill,, 2. p. 109.
Synonyme. S. sínica Hosier Jo u rn . P h y s . 14. p. 248., Dec. L é g um . t. 4. f. 1.
E n g ra v in g s . Reti, in N . Du H am., 3. t. 21. ; Dec.. L ég um ., t. 4. f. 1. ; th e p la te of thii
Arb. B rit. 1st ed it., vol. v .; and our Jig. 294.
Spec. Char., Leaves pinnate, with 11— 13 leaflets, which are oblong-
ovate, acute, and smooth ; panicle loose, terminal ; pods smooth. A deciduous
tree o f the middle size. Japan. Height 40 ft. to 50 ft. In tro duced
in 1763. Flowers cream-coloured; August and September. P o d s
rarely produced in England. Decaying leaves yellow and green. Naked
young wood dark green, like th a t o f ./asminum officinàle.
Varieties.
¥ S. j . 2 variegâta H o rt. has th e leaves variegated, but is not worth
cultivating as an ornamental plant.
¥ S. j . 3 péndula H o rt., and th e plate o f this tre e in o u r 1st edit,
vol. v., has pendulous shoots, and is a very remarkable variety.
Grafted near th e ground, th e shoots run along th e surface, like those
o f a trailing plant, to a very great distance from th e main stem ; in
good soil, a shoot extending itse lf 6 or 8 feet in one season.
Grafted at th e iieight o f 10 or 20 feet or upwards, th e shoots bang
down, and form one o f th e most ornamental o f pendulous trees,
both in summer and winter.
291. Sophòra ja jió n ic a .
A round-headed tree, readily distinguished in winter by the fine, smooth,
dark green bark o f its young wood and smaller b ra n c h e s ; and, in summer, by
the dark blue green o f its foliage. In deep free soil, it grows with great rapidity,
seedlings attaining th e height o f 10 or 12 feet in 4 or 5 y e a r s ; and
in 20 or 30 years, in th e neighbourhood o f London, 30 or 40 feet. T h e re are
large specimens in England, which flower freely; but they have never yet
ripened seeds ; indeed, the tre e ripens seeds in Fran c e only in the very
warmest seasons. The wood is very hard and compact, as much so, it is said,
as th a t o f th e box. The bark exhales a strong odour, which, it is stated in
th e Nouveau Du Hamel, produces colic and purging on those who prune the
t r e e or otherwise work with th e wood in a green state. L ittle appears to
h e known of th e uses of th e tre e in China and J a p a n : b u t it is said th a t the
^ t r C e S f t “
r s i z f t y i n ^ f o i i ^
f t r o i t o T f t t : l i ? a ? l eftre 7 h e pendulous variety is
k f t o Z d m a Z ft f t g h t to bM in one ra th e r poor and dry tn a t ft may
m-e “ 0>-e easily "p e n ed f r ^ ^ i^ ^ h a v e trees th a t will soon come in to flower.
grow b> cuttings, more especially of th e roots, and also« by» lasyei.s.“ - "
s 2. S. h e p t a p h y ' l l a L . The 7-leaf-
leted Sophora.
Identification. L in . Spec., -533.; D e c. P ro d ., 2.
Am!, 4. p . 50. t. 22. ; an d our
fig. 295.
Spee. Char., Sfo. Leaflets 7, glabrous.
(Don’s M ill.) A deciduous shrub.
China. Height 6 ft. Introduced m
1830. Flowers yellow ; October.
T h e re are plants of S. heptaphylla in
the H o rt. Soc. Garden, which have
flowered and appear to be quite hardy,
hut as they do not exactly agree with
Eumphius’s figure, especially m the
number o f leaflets, we wish our engraving
to be considered as of doubtful
authenticity. The living plants alluded
to are sufficiently distinct, and deserve
a [ilace in collections.
G e n u s I I .
2 9 5 . Sophhra h e p ta p h ji la
V IR G I'L D J L. T h e V irg ii .ia . Lin. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.
Identification. L am . 111., t. 346.; P e rs . E n ch ., 1. p . 463. ; K. Brown in H o rt. Kew., ed. 2. vol. 3. p. 4.;
D Ì f r a tó « . ''-N a m e f à j S tm a r c Ì in ho n o u r of th e poet Virgil, whose Georgies en title him to botanic
commemoratiun.
Gen Char. Calyx 5-cleft. Petals 5, about equal in length. VexiUum m th
the edges n o t reflexed. Stigma beardless. Legume compressed, oblong,
2-vaived, many-seeded. (Doris M ill.) i Tr/n,„nre
Leaves compound, impari-pinnate, deciduous ; with 9— 1 1 leaflets. Flowejs
vellow in ra c em e s . — There is only one hardy species, a deciduous low tiee.
’ o 3