Sophora alopecuroides Seeds | Foxtail Sophora
LATIN NAME: Sophora alopecuroides
COMMON NAME: Foxtail Sophora
Plant Profile
Foxtail Sophora (Sophora alopecuroides) is a robust, clumping, perennial in the pea family. In time it steadily becomes a rounded crown, reaching 5-10 metres. Site it in full sun, in deep, fertile ground. Given room and time, it reaches roughly 5-10 metres. While it flowers, it feeds a quiet procession of bees and hoverflies. Not many plants ask so little and repay so much.
Science & Biotechnology
Research touching on Sophora alopecuroides ranges from the botany of the pea family to practical horticulture, including seed handling, propagation and the selection of superior forms. Foxtail sophora has a real and distinguished place in the research. Centuries of cultivation have left a detailed record of how it grows and behaves.
Uses & Benefits
Gardeners value Foxtail Sophora for its ornamental character, and the plant also fits naturally into herb, vegetable and cutting gardens. Ecologically, foxtail sophora is a generous plant of dry garden. Its dense, upright spikes of creamy-white, pea-like flowers feed bees and many insects, and its fine, leafy stems give a neat presence to dry, open border. But parts of plant contain alkaloids, and it is best grown as a dry-garden plant rather than a remedy, and grazing animals should not be allowed to feed on it. Once it has its roots down, it more or less looks after itself.
Sophora is a pharmacopoeia in itself: Sophora flavescens root, Ku Shen, is a major Chinese heat-clearing herb for skin and gut, its matrine alkaloids widely studied, while the pagoda tree’s flower buds, Huai Mi, supply rutin by the ton for vascular supplements.
Growing from Seed
Foxtail Sophora grows readily from seed. Use a loose, well-drained seed compost, sow evenly over the surface and cover lightly, and keep everything evenly moist in full sun. When the young plants are big enough to handle, space them into pots or a nursery row and let them size up before their final move.
Our Take
Foxtail Sophora repays a little patience at sowing time with plenty of garden presence later.
Related Reading
Gardeners who grow Foxtail Sophora often pair it with these related subjects: