Styphnolobium japonicum

Styphnolobium japonicum is native to China. Despite its Latin name, the species was introduced in Japan and not originally found there. It is a popular ornamental tree in Europe, North America and South Africa, grown for its white flowers, borne in late summer after most other flowering trees have long finished flowering. It grows to 10–20 m tall with an equal spread, and produces a fine, dark brown timber. ==Uses==

History Despite its name, the Chinese scholar tree was not the official memorial tree of higher officials in Zhou dynasty China. The tombs of scholars were instead decorated with Koelreuteria paniculata. The Guilty Chinese Scholartree is a historic pagoda tree in Beijing, from which the last emperor of the Ming dynasty, Chongzhen, hanged himself in 1644. Traditional medicine S. japonicum (; formerly Sophora japonica) is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine. Its fruits have stress resistance and antioxidant properties. Tea The flowers and leaves are sometimes used for teas, such as by families in Laoshan Village, Shandong Province, China. It counts as a variety of herbal tea. Construction uses The wood is used to make the strong, springy curved "enju wood" handle used on the traditional Japanese woodworking adze, called the chouna. Pagoda wood is very hard after drying. This makes pagoda products durable and long lasting. The pagoda tree trunk is generally composed of alternating ridges of light-brown outside layers and gray brown inside layers. This makes wood carving products, for example from the Hokkaido native Ainu people, very decorative. The Ainu are famous for their carvings of Blakiston's fish owl. ==Chemistry==

The dried flower buds may contain as much as 20% rutin with some quercetin. S. japonicum dried fruit contains the flavonoid glycosides sophoricoside, genistin and rutin and the flavonoid aglycones genistein, quercetin and kaempferol. Another analysis found genistein and genistein glycosides including sophorabioside, sophoricoside, genistein-7-diglucoside, genistein-7-diglucorhamnoside, and kaempferol and the kaempferol glycosides kaempferol-3-sophoroside and kaempferol-3-rhamnodiglucoside. The bark contains the allomatrine alkaloid. ==References==