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'''Styphnolobium''' is a small genus of three or four species of small trees and shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae, formerly included within a broader interpretation of the genus ''Sophora''. The species of ''Styphnolobium'' differ from ''Sophora'' in lacking the ability to form symbioses with rhizobia (nitrogen fixing bacteria) on their roots. They also differ from the related genus ''Calia'' (mescalbeans) in having deciduous leaves and flowers in axillary, not terminal, racemes. The leaves are pinnate, with 9-21 leaflets, and the flowers in pendulous racemes similar to those of the Black locust.

Contents

Species

Uses

References

External links

Species

★ '''Styphnolobium affine''' (Torr. & A. Gray) Walp., the 'Coralbean' or 'Eve's Necklace' (syn. ''Sophora affinis'') is native to the southern United States in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. It is a large shrub or small tree, growing to 5-7 m tall, with white or pale violet flowers.

★ '''Styphnolobium japonicum''' (L.) Schott, the 'Pagoda Tree' (Chinese Scholar, Japanese pagodatree; syn. ''Sophora japonica''), is native to eastern Asia (mainly China; despite the name, it is introduced in Japan), is a popular ornamental tree in Europe and North America, grown for its white flowers, borne in late summer after most other flowering trees have long finished flowering. It makes a broad, spreading tree to 10-20 m tall and as much broad.

★ '''Styphnolobium monteviridis''' is native to Central America.

Uses

The Pagoda Tree is widely used in bonsai gardening. The Guilty Chinese Scholartree was a historic Pagoda Tree in Beijing, on which the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen, hanged himself.
''S. japonicum'' (Chinese: ; pinyin: huái; formerly ''Sophora japonica'') is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine.

References

★ The relationship of ''Sophora'' sect. ''Edwardsia'' (Fabaceae) to ''Sophora tomentosa'', the type species of the genus ''Sophora'', observed from DNA sequence data and morphological characters. ''Bot. J. Linn. Soc.'' '146': 439-446 (2004). Available online.

External links

★ ''Sophora japonica''