Sophora

Template:Taxobox begin Template:Taxobox image Template:Taxobox begin placement Template:Taxobox regnum entry Template:Taxobox divisio entry Template:Taxobox classis entry Template:Taxobox ordo entry Template:Taxobox familia entry Template:Taxobox subfamilia entry Template:Taxobox tribus entry Template:Taxobox genus entry Template:Taxobox end placement Template:Taxobox section subdivision About 60-70 species, including:
Sophora alopecuroides - Sophora Root
Sophora chrysophylla - Mamane
Sophora microphylla - Kowhai
Sophora tetraptera - Kowhai
Sophora toromiro - Toromiro
Sophora tomentosa Template:Taxobox end

Sophora is a genus of about 60-70 species of small trees and shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are native from southeast Europe across southern Asia, Australasia, the islands of the Pacific Ocean and western South America.

The genus formerly had a broader interpretation including many other species now treated in other genera, notably Styphnolobium, which differs in lacking nitrogen fixing bacteria (rhizobia) on the roots, and Calia (the mescalbeans).

The New Zealand Sophora species are known as Kowhai.

The Toromiro was formerly a common tree in the forests of Easter Island. The tree fell victim to the deforestation that eliminated the island's forests by the 18th century, and later became extinct in the wild. The tree is being reintroduced to the island in a scientific project led by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Pagoda Tree (Sophora japonica) - habit in summer