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  • Sophora microphylla

Sophora microphylla

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Common name: Kowhai


Sophora microphylla is a small tree in the pea family native to New Zealand and Chile. It’s been growing in the Southern Hemisphere Garden since 2008, but hardly anybody notices it. Not because it isn’t worth looking at. You just can’t see it under most light conditions. 


Kowhai has fine textured foliage - tiny leaflets with interlacing branches twisting and turning in every direction. Small, yellow, tubular flowers hang from the tree in May. The last two pictures show its attractive foliage and twisting form with the snow as a backdrop. But it never recovered from that cold spell in 2022. If you go looking for it and can’t find it, it’s not the light. It just isn’t there anymore. But Kowhai is not extinct, whereas the giant flightless moa bird is. The moa bird used forests of Kowhai for nest building and food. 


James P, (the gardener for the Southern Hemisphere area) felt this small tree had a good 14 years and has ordered a Sophora microphylla cultivar. It could be a long time before the replacement cultivar arrives - even next year. Very few are grown in the small speciality nurseries, and they operate on their own time. 


'Sophera' is an Arabic name for a pea-flowered tree. This is where the genus name Sophora came from. The specific epithet microphylla means 'small-leaved', referring to the leaflets this species has. The picture of the flowering Kowhai was taken in May, the leaf picture in summer, and tree and snow ones in winter. 


Text and photos by Hughie Jones

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  • Home
  • Updates
    • What's New
    • Curator Updates
    • Garden Stories >
      • Garden Story Index
    • Self-Guided Tours
    • Walks & Talks >
      • Walks and Talks 2023
      • Walks and Talks 2022
      • Walks -Talks 2021 & Zoom Tips
    • PDFs of Updates, Tours, & Talks >
      • Self-guided Tours (PDF)
      • Gardener Walks (PDF)
  • Plant IDs
    • ID By Flower Color >
      • Red Flowers
      • Pink Flowers
      • Orange Flowers
      • Yellow Flowers
      • Green Flowers
      • Blue Flowers
      • Purple Flowers
      • White Flowers
    • ID By Type >
      • Annuals
      • Berries-Fruits-Nuts
      • Bulbs, Corms, Rhizomes, Tubers >
        • Bulbs
        • Corms
        • Rhizomes
        • Tubers
      • Ferns
      • Grasses
      • Medicinal Plants
      • Native Plants
      • Perennials >
        • Peonies
        • Salvias
      • Rhododendrons >
        • Rhodendron Erica Notes
      • Shrubs >
        • Calycanthus
        • Hydrangeas >
          • Hydrangea Background
        • Peonies >
          • Peonies-Overview
        • Rhododendrons
        • Roses >
          • Rose Background
      • Trees >
        • Conifers >
          • Cypress
          • Firs
          • Pines
        • Deciduous Trees >
          • Dogwoods
          • Ginkgos
          • Magnolias
          • Witch Hazels
        • Native Trees
        • Tree of the Month
  • In the Garden
    • Map and Collection Lists
    • Art in the Garden >
      • Symposium & Exhibitions
    • Building and Grounds >
      • Bridges
      • Formal Rose Garden Hardscape and Art
      • Grotto Area & Black Garden
      • Korean Pavilion
      • Maze
    • Gardener Assignments
    • Collections >
      • Ash Collection
      • Camellia Collection
      • Rhododendron Walk
    • Gardens >
      • Gardens A-D >
        • Alma VanDusen Garden
        • Backyard Bird Garden
        • Bentall Garden
        • Black Garden
        • Canadian Heritage Garden >
          • Bees
          • Canadian Heritage Orchard
        • Cascadia Garden
        • Cherry Grove
        • Chilean Garden
      • Gardens E-H >
        • Eastern North America Garden
        • Fern Dell
        • Formal Rose Garden
        • Fragrance Garden
        • Heather Garden
        • Herb Garden
        • Heritage Rose Garden
      • Gardens I-P >
        • Laburnum Walk
        • Livingstone Lake
        • Meconopsis Dell
        • Meditation Garden
        • Mediterranean Garden
        • Ornamental Grasses
        • Perennial Garden
      • Gardens R-Z >
        • Rhododendron Walk
        • Sino-Himayalan Region
        • South African Garden
        • Southern Hemisphere
        • Stone Garden
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    • ERICA, ERICA'S TREE (and a short history of Guiding) - June 14, 2018
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