Flora of New Zealand Series

Type locality: Anawhata, on ridge north of White's Bay. Type: BD 8205. Known to range a little north and south of this.

Shrub or small tree up to 3 m. tall. Lvs c. 8-10 cm. long. Lflts close-set, up to 50 pairs, 3-4 mm. long, rather densely to sparsely clad in grey hairs above, densely hairy below. Young branchlets, pedicels and calyces densely clad in deep fulvous hairs. Keel c. 4·5 cm. long, but little > wings, standard c. 3·5 cm. long.

DIST.: N. Coastal scrub and forest west of Auckland.

POLYMORPHY

There is good field evidence that where S. tetraptera and S. microphylla meet hybrids of several forms occur. There is still better evidence that S. microphylla hybridizes with S. prostrata. Some of the hybrid forms are cultivated as interesting variants. Cockayne (T.N.Z.I. 34, 1902, 270, 319) gave the Chatham Id Sophora the name S. chathamica, based on the seedling development and the almost complete absence of divarication in the juvenile. His description is very incomplete. In a series of important papers (J. chem. Soc. 1937-1948) Briggs and his co-workers have studied Sophora alkaloids. They find that S. microphylla var. fulvida is very distinct chemically from the type, but were unable to justify the separation of S. chathamica from S. microphylla on chemical grounds. Cockayne (T.N.Z.I. 44, 1912, 25) discusses the significance of the different degrees of heteroblastic development found in the N.Z. spp. S. microphylla may flower on the first branch of an adult form, and reversion shoots on old plants also occ. flower.