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Sophora japonica

 Plant.—A deciduous tree, up to 30 m height, with upright,
spreading, pendulous branches, with a densely branched
crown. It has smooth, green branches.

 The leaves are alternate, odd-pinnate (pinnately compound)

with 11 to 15 leaflets.
 The leaflets are ovate in outline, pale-green below, and

glossy and deep-green on the upper surface. The main leaf
petiole is very thick at the base.

 The flowers perfect, creamy white or pale yellow, have
small campanulate calices, and borne in close racemes

(terminal panicles).
 The flowers are in large, broad, sweeping terminal panicles

made up of racemes. The flowers are papilionaceous with a
patent standard.

 The lower edge of the lateral wing petals are bent over so
that one surrounds the others. The fruit is a round pod tied

in around the seeds like a string of pearls.