Styphnolobium japonicum, the Japanese pagoda tree[3] (also known as the Chinese scholar tree and pagoda tree; syn. Sophora japonica) is a species of deciduoustree in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae.
It was 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 fixingbacteria) on their roots. It also differs from the related genus Calia (mescalbeans) in having deciduousleaves and flowers in axillary, not terminal, racemes. The leaves are alternate, pinnate, with nine to 21 leaflets, and the flowers in pendulous racemes similar to those of the black locust.
Styphnolobium japonicum is native to China. Despite its Latin name, the species was introduced in Japan and not originally found there. It is a popular ornamental tree in Europe, North America and South Africa, grown for its white flowers, borne in late summer after most other flowering trees have long finished flowering. It grows to 10–20 m tall with an equal spread, and produces a fine, dark brown timber.[citation needed]
Despite its name, the Chinese scholar tree was the official memorial tree of higher officials in Zhou dynasty China. The tombs of scholars were instead decorated with Koelreuteria paniculata.[4]
The flowers and leaves are sometimes used for teas, such as by families in Laoshan Village, Shandong Province, China. It counts as a variety of herbal tea.[citation needed]
The wood is used to make the strong, springy curved "enju wood" handle used on the traditional Japanese woodworking adze, called the chouna.[6][7] Pagoda wood is very hard after drying. This makes pagoda products durable and long lasting. The pagoda tree trunk is generally composed of alternating ridges of light-brown outside layers and gray brown inside layers. This makes wood carving products, for example from the Hokkaido native Ainu people, very decorative. The Ainu are famous for their carvings of the Blakiston's fish owl.
^USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Styphnolobium japonicum". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
Heenan, P. B., M. I. Dawson, S. J. Wagstaff (December 2004). "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(4): 439–446. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2004.00348.x.
