Sophora viciifolia seed
LATIN NAME: SOPHORA VICIIFOLIA
COMMON NAME: Vetch-Leaf Sophora
The vetch-leaf sophora is a neat, tough, deciduous shrub of the dry hills, and its fine, pinnate leaves and dense clusters of white or pale-pink, pea-like flowers make it a valued plant of the dry garden and the wild. It grows as a shrub, reaching two metres or a little more, with upright, branching, sometimes spiny stems bearing the alternate, pinnate leaves of many small, oval leaflets and, through the summer, dense clusters of the white or pale-pink, pea-like flowers, followed by slender, knobbly pods of small seeds. Native to the dry hills of western China, it grows in dry, open, rocky ground where few plants thrive, and it is prized for its toughness, its neat form and its generous summer bloom, making it a superb shrub for the dry garden and the rock garden.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The vetch-leaf sophora has a real and growing place in ecological and botanical research. Ecologists and land managers study it as a native of the dry hills of western China, examining its growth, its distribution and its role in the dry, rocky ground, and its value in the dry lands has drawn attention in the international ecological press as a shrub of the dry hills. Botanists study its relationships and its place among the sophoras, a genus of the pea family that includes both fine-flowered ornamentals and useful, potent medicinal plants, and the diversity of the genus has been of continuing interest. The chemistry of the sophoras has also been studied across the world, since their parts contain a range of useful and potent compounds, though the plant is best appreciated as a subject of study and a tough dry-garden shrub rather than a casual remedy. For a shrub of such toughness, the vetch-leaf sophora has a steady and continuing record of study.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
To grow the Vetch-Leaf Sophora from seed, ecologically, the vetch-leaf sophora is a generous shrub of the dry garden. Its dense clusters of pea-like flowers feed bees and many insects, its fine, leafy crown gives a neat, tough cover to the dry slope and the rock garden, and it grows happily in poor, dry ground where many plants fail. Economically it is prized for its dense clusters of flowers and its toughness, valued in dry-land and water-wise gardening, and its fine, tough wood and nitrogen-rich growth have also made it of interest in the dry lands. For a grower it is an easy and rewarding shrub, and for a gardener of the dry regions it brings a dense, white or pale-pink, pea-flowered shrub to the garden. To bring the vetch-leaf sophora on, steep the seeds in warm water briefly, then sow them just below the surface of moist, free-draining soil and keep them lightly watered.
steep the seeds in warm water briefly, then sow them just below the surface of moist, free-draining soil, and keep the young sophoras lightly watered.
LATIN NAME: Sophora viciifolia
COMMON NAME: Vetch-Leaf Sophora
The vetch-leaf sophora is a neat, tough, deciduous shrub of the dry hills, and its fine, pinnate leaves and its dense clusters of the white or pale-pink, pea-like flowers have made it a valued plant of the dry garden and the wild. It grows as a shrub, reaching up to two metres or a little more, with the upright, branching, sometimes spiny stems bearing the alternate, pinnate leaves of the many small, oval leaflets and, through the summer, the dense clusters of the white or pale-pink, pea-like flowers, followed by the slender, knobbly pods of the small seeds. It is a species of the flowering shrub in the pea family, and it is native to the dry hills of the western China, while it grows in the dry, open ground, and it is known as the vetch-leaf sophora.
The vetch-leaf sophora belongs to the pea family, Fabaceae, and it is a species of the deciduous shrub, native to the dry hills of the western China, while it grows in the dry, open ground, and it is known as the vetch-leaf sophora. It is prized for its dense clusters of the white or pale-pink, pea-like flowers and its toughness.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The vetch-leaf sophora has a real and growing place in the research. It has been studied in the ecology and the land use, since it is a native of the dry hills of the western China, and researchers have examined its growth, its distribution and its role in the dry, rocky ground, while its value in the dry lands has drawn attention in the international ecological press as a shrub of the dry hills. The plant has also been studied in the botany, since it is a close relative of the fine-flowered and the useful sophoras of the pea family, and researchers have examined its relationships and its place among the sophoras, while the study of the pea family has been of continuing interest, and the diversity of the genus Sophora has been of value. The species has also been studied in the chemistry of the natural products, since the parts of the sophoras contain a range of the useful and the potent compounds, and researchers have examined these constituents, while the chemistry of the sophoras has been of continuing interest across the world, and the plant is best appreciated as a subject of study and a tough dry-garden shrub rather than a casual remedy. For a shrub of such toughness, the vetch-leaf sophora has a steady and continuing record of study.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, the vetch-leaf sophora is a generous shrub of the dry garden. Its dense clusters of the white or pale-pink, pea-like flowers feed the bees and the many insects, and its fine, leafy crown gives a neat, tough cover to the dry slope and the rock garden.
Its economic value is real. The vetch-leaf sophora is prized for its dense clusters of the pea-like flowers and its toughness, and its worth has drawn attention in the international ecological and horticultural press as a shrub of the dry hills, while its fine, tough wood and its nitrogen-rich growth have also made it of interest in the dry lands. For a grower, the vetch-leaf sophora is an easy and rewarding shrub, and for a gardener of the dry regions it brings a dense, white or pale-pink, pea-flowered shrub to the garden. The seeds are easy to start — give them a quick dip in warm water, then sow them just below the surface of a pot of moist, free-draining soil, keep them lightly watered, and theyll be sprouting steadily, growing on into a tough, pea-flowered shrub.