Sophora tomentosa L.
Upright, evergreen, bushy shrub with typically nine leaflets and bright lemon yellow, scentless flowers. [BM t.3390/1836].
Horticultural & Botanical History
‘The shining, dark green, handsome foliage of this plant, contrasting with its bright yellow spike-like panicles of flowers, render it a very ornamental shrub; but in Madeira, […] it is singularly liable to be infested by a species of caterpillar, which, at intervals, absolutely swarms upon it, stripping it of all its leaves and beauty. The foliage has a fetid, sub-bituminous smell, like that of Psoralea Americana L., or P. bituminosa L. Raised from Brazilian seeds by Mrs. Penfold, of the Achada, flowering chiefly in May or June; the seeds ripening in September and October. Miller says that in Jamaica, of which it is a native, the other more hoary variety, alpha, Sophora tomentosa L., is called Sea-side Pigeon Pea. This was made by Linnaeus a distinct species from the smoother plant here figured (S. occidentalis L.): but they have been long united by Mr. Brown, under the name of S. tomentosa.’ [BM t.3390/1836].
History at Camden Park
Hand written in a copy of the 1850 catalogue in the Mitchell Library collection inscribed on the front Wm. Macarthur 23rd Dec. 1854. [ML 635.9m]. Certainly grown in the gardens at this time.
Notes
Sophora tomentosa Hort. ex Dippel (1893) = Sophora violacea Hort.
Published Dec 25, 2009 - 04:46 PM | Last updated Jul 21, 2010 - 02:30 PM
Sophora tomentosa L. | BM t.3390/1836 | BHL
| Family | Fabaceae |
|---|---|
| Category | |
| Region of origin | South America, Caribbean |
| Synonyms |
|
| Common Name | |
| Name in the Camden Park Record |
Sophora tomentosa |
| Confidence level | high |