Styphnolobium Japonicum (=Sophora Japonica)
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Styphnolobium japonicum (=Sophora japonica) Japanese Pagodatree (Fabaceae or Leguminosae) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Styphnolobium japonicum is a large, rounded, shade -ripening in Oct.-Nov. and persisting into Dec. or tree that doubles as an ornamental tree, profusely beyond flowering in Aug. or early Sept. with creamy-yellow Twigs large inflorescences. Japanese Pagodatree has many -bright green in spring on the emergent stems, liabilities that limit the planting of this unusual tree in becoming kelly green to medium green in summer, urban landscapes. and persisting as a dark green during the winter, FEATURES remaining so for several years afterwards on the Form young branches, slowly fading to tan on the mature -large shade tree, branches doubling as a large Trunk ornamental tree -branches are lightly furrowed and yellowish green- maturing at about 60' brown, but appear as if they are striated (i.e., having tall x 80' wide, but can light brown, diffuse, straight lines on the lime green get even larger bark) -upright rounded growth -trunks have interlacing ridges and are more deeply habit in youth, furrowed, becoming light brown to gray-brown with becoming more maturity spreading with age -wood is relatively weak, and the branches are prone rapid growth rate in youth and middle age, becoming to storm damage (with or without cankers and wood a medium growth rate with maturity rot) with their increasing age and weight Culture -growth habit is very rounded, resulting from the loss -full sun to partial sun of the central leader at an early age (for the species -performs best in full sun in moist, well-drained soils form) of average fertility, but is very urban tolerant USAGE (especially to heat, drought, pollution, compacted Function soils, and poor soils) -shade, specimen, or summer-flowering focal point -species form is propagated by seed, and cultivars are Texture budded onto seedling understock -medium texture in foliage and when bare -several potential diseases (including branch and -thick density in foliage and when bare trunk canker [which can lead to wood rot and storm Assets damage] and twig blight [which leads to leaf -showy creamy inflorescences in mid- to late-summer abscission and stem dieback]) and at least one -rapid growth rate potential pest (potato leaf hopper [which kills the -urban tolerance new growth, leading to the resultant regrowth as -dappled shade in youth witches' brooms]) -wildlife attraction when in fruit -low availability, in B&B form Liabilities Foliage -fruit abscission (and bird deposition of fruit residue) -alternate, medium to dark green, with about 9-13 from Oct. through Dec., a true liability if the tree is ovate leaflets (with acute apices) per pinnately sited near parking lots, sidewalks, etc. compound leaf, having faded green to yellowish -continuous sequence of dropping leaflets, rachises, green autumn color flowers, fruits, and pedicels from July through Dec., -trees will often drop a slow but continuous stream of and dead stem abscission year round leaflets, rachises, and entire leaves from mid-summer -weak wood and brittle stems, often resulting in through early-autumn (before the advent of normal storm damage with age autumn leaf abscission), in response to both abiotic -potential for numerous diseases and pests and biotic stresses -species form is slow to flower as a young tree in the -trees cast a light dappled northern areas of its range shade in youth, but a -poor autumn color much more dense shade -marginally hardy in severe zone 5 winters, with maturity exhibiting twig dieback Flowers Habitat -creamy-white to -Zones 5 to 8 yellowish-green large -Native to the Orient inflorescences blanket the SELECTIONS tree anytime from early Alternates Aug. to early Sept., with -medium- or large-sized shade trees with showy about a 3-week bloom flowers in summer (Koelreuteria paniculata, period Liriodendron tulipifera, Magnolia grandiflora, etc.) -young seedling trees may -urban tolerant shade trees (Acer platanoides, not flower for the first 10 Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Gleditsia triacanthos, or so years unless the Quercus rubra, Zelkova serrata, etc.) cultivar 'Regent', which Cultivars – Variants – Related species flowers at a young age, is Styphnolobium japonicum 'Regent' - the cultivar of used choice, selected for its even more rapid growth rate, Fruits relatively straight central leader, earliness to flower -thick green pods mature to yellow-green fruits, with (at about 5 years old), and glossy dark green foliage the large beans appearing as knobs within the . otherwise thin pods, hanging profusely from the tree.