Kowhai is a small woody legume tree native to New Zealand. There are eight species. Sophora microphylla is the most common, and has smaller leaves and flowers than Sophora tetraptera. Kowhai trees grow throughout the country and are a common feature in New Zealand gardens. Varieties of soybean seeds, a popular legume Pea pods A legume is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or a fruit of these plants. ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth. ...

Most species of Kowhai grow to around 8 m high and have fairly smooth bark with small leaves. They have horn-shaped yellow flowers, which appear in early spring. Their nectar is a favourite food for Tui, Bellbird and Kererū (New Zealand Wood Pigeon). The very distinctive almost segemented pods, which appear after flowering, each contain six or more smooth, hard, yellow seeds. These seeds can be very numerous and the presence of many hundreds of these ditinctively yellow seeds on the ground quickly identifies the presence of a nearby Kowhai tree. Unusually for New Zealand plants, some species of Kowhai are deciduous, losing their tiny, dull green leaves each winter. Many other Kowhai trees lose most of their leaves immediately after flowering in October or November but quickly produce new leaves. Binomial name Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae (Gmelin, 1788) A Tui on a flax flower The Tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) is an endemic passerine bird of New Zealand, one of the largest members of the diverse honeyeater family. ... Binomial name Anthornis melanura (Sparrman, 1786) The New Zealand Bellbird Anthoris melanura is a passerine bird that is endemic to New Zealand, and is commonly known simply as the bellbird. It has greenish coloration and is the only living member of the genus Anthornis. ... Binomial name Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae (Gmelin, 1789) The kererÅ« or New Zealand Pigeon (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae novaseelandiae (Gmelin)) is a bird endemic to New Zealand. ...

Kowhai drawing

Kowhai trees are relatively easy to grow if the seed is first immersed in boiling water or is chitted [1] prior to sowing. Outside of New Zealand, Kowhais tend to be restricted to mild temperate maritime climates. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 377 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (856 × 1361 pixel, file size: 775 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 377 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (856 × 1361 pixel, file size: 775 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Sophora prostrata, sometimes called "Little Baby", is used as a Bonsai tree. It grows to the height of up to 2 meters, has zigzaging stems, and smallish leaves quite sparsely in the tree. [2] A bonsai trident maple growing in the root over rock style. ...

Kōwhai is the Maori word for yellow, from the colour of the flowers. Māori (or Maori) is a language spoken by the native peoples of New Zealand and the Cook Islands. ... A yellow Tulip. ...

The Kowhai is the national flower of New Zealand. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Sophora is one of the four genera of native legumes in New Zealand, the other three are Carmichaelia, Clianthus, and Montigena. Species See text. ... Binomial name Clianthus puniceus (G.Don) Sol. ...

External links

• TSN 26957. Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
• The Current Taxonomy of New Zealand Legumes
• Kowhai photos
• Sophora – "The Kowhais of New Zealand" by Denis Hughes, IPPS Proceedings Volume 52, 2002, retrieved July 1, 2006