Sophora tetraptera J.F.Mill. var. grandiflora
Somewhat variable, frost-hardy, spreading, evergreen tree with pinnate leaves, to 17cm long, composed of up to 20 pairs of ovate leaflets, and racemes, to 6cm long, of 4-10 golden yellow flowers, to 5cm long, with forward-pointing petals, in spring. Grandiflora has large leaflets and drooping clusters of slightly larger flowers. To 10m. [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].
Horticultural & Botanical History
‘It flowers beautifully in the spring, and sometimes the seeds are perfected, by which it is readily increased.’ [LBC no.1162/1827].
‘The magnificent and highly curious species of Sophora here represented, is one of the many plants discovered by Sir Joseph Banks at New-Zealand, where it forms a tree of considerable size. A finer sight can scarcely be imagined than a tree of this sort, extending to a great breadth on a wall with a western aspect, in the Apothecaries Garden at Chelsea, where it was planted by Mr. Forsyth about the year 1774. [BM t.167/1791]. This journal, in 1839, figured a plant called Edwardsia Macnabiana with the comment: ‘Some doubt may be entertained whether the present plant is not a seedling variety of E. grandiflora; but it is instantly distinguishable from the ordinary form of that species by its nearly equal petals and by its flowering when in full leaf.’ [BM t.3735/1839].
History at Camden Park
Possibly obtained from John Bidwill. Listed in all published catalogues [T.408/1843].
Notes
Published Dec 25, 2009 - 05:01 PM | Last updated Jul 21, 2010 - 02:31 PM
Sophora tetraptera J.F.Mill. var. grandiflora | BM t.167/1791 | BHL
| Family | Fabaceae |
|---|---|
| Category | |
| Region of origin | New Zealand |
| Synonyms |
|
| Common Name | Kowhai |
| Name in the Camden Park Record |
Edwardsia grandiflora |
| Confidence level | high |