Sophora flavescens

Sophora flavescens, the shrubby sophora, is a species of plant in the genus Sophora of the family Fabaceae. This genus contains about 52 species. It mainly occurs in India, Japan, Korea and Russia.

Description
Sophora flavescens can grow to a height of 2 m. Its stem is marked with stripes and covered in soft hairs when young. The leaves are usually 20-25 cm long, with lanceolate stipules and 13-25 elliptic, ovate, or lanceolate leaflets. The plant produces terminal racemes measuring 15-25 cm, with numerous flowers spaced widely apart. The flowers have slender pedicels and linear bracts with white, pale yellow, purple-red, or red spoon-shaped petals. It blooms from June to August and fruits from July to October.

Distribution
Sophora flavescens is native to China and can be found in all provinces in China. It can be also found in India, Japan, Korea and the Russian Far East. It mainly grows on mountainous slopes, sandy grassland inclines, shrub forests, or around the fields, typically at elevations below 1500 meters.

Growth and cultivation
Sophora flavescens is an evergreen slow growing shrub growing to 1.5 m by 1 m. It is hardy to 0 – and to US zone 6. The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil. Like many other species in the family Fabaceae, this species can fix nitrogen.

Chemistry


Chemical compounds isolated from S. flavescens include:
 * Matrine and matrine oxide, quinolizidine alkaloids found in the roots
 * Kushenin, a pterocarpan and isoflavonoid
 * Sophoraflavanone G
 * 7,9,2',4'-Tetrahydroxy-8-isopentenyl-5-methoxychalcone
 * Sophoridine
 * Kurarinone
 * Trifolirhizin, a pterocarpan flavonoid, isolated from the roots
 * 8-Prenylkaempferol, a prenylflavonoid
 * Oxysophocarpine and sophocarpine, alkaloids

Toxicity
Toxic effects from use of the root may include nausea, dizziness, vomiting, constipation, spasms, disturbance of speech, irregular breathing, respiratory failure and death.