Flora of North America species comparison

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Sophora tomentosa

yellow necklacepod, yellow sophora
Habit Shrubs or small trees, 1–3(–6) m, tomentulose to deeply sericeous.
Leaves

rachis 10–25 cm;

leaflets 11–21, blades obovate, oblong, elliptic, or suborbiculate, 2–4(–5) cm, surfaces villous to sericeous abaxially, densely villous, sericeous, or glabrescent adaxially.
Inflorescences

35–75-flowered, crowded, 12–32 cm;

bracteoles 0.
Pedicels

4–10 mm.
Flowers

spreading, (17–)20–25 mm;

calyx broadly campanulate, 5–8[–10] mm;

corolla creamy white to yellow;

ovary pubescent.
Legumes

black, narrowly oblong-moniliform, 5–15(–20) × 0.5–1 cm, leathery.
Seeds

1–15, light brown, 4–8 mm.
2n

= 18.

Sophora tomentosa
Distribution
from USDA
sc United States; se United States; Mexico; Central America; West Indies; n South America; se Asia; Africa; Pacific Islands; Australia
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Discussion

Subspecies ca. 7 (2 in the flora).

Sophora tomentosa is polymorphic and has a worldwide distribution along tropical and subtropical seashores. The seeds are considered toxic and have diuretic, sudorific, and purgative properties; they are also used for other medicinal purposes (R. A. Vines 1960).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaflet blades mostly obovate or oblong; flowers (17–)20–23 mm.
subsp. bahamensis
1. Leaflet blades broadly elliptic or suborbiculate; flowers 23–25 mm.
subsp. occidentalis
Source FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Sophora
Sibling taxa
S. leachiana, S. nuttalliana, S. stenophylla
Subordinate taxa
S. tomentosa subsp. bahamensis, S. tomentosa subsp. occidentalis
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 373. (1753)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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