Sophora golden leaf

Golden Sophora is an endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and can be found on all major islands, with the exception of Niihau and Kahoolawa .

It can grow at an altitude of 30 to 2900 m (98–9500 ft) above sea level. Most common and grows highest in mountain dry forests at an altitude of 1220-2440 m (4000-8000 feet) above sea level. ^[2] Sophora golden leaf and Myoporum sandwicense form the basis of the dry forests of the subalpine belt of East Maui and the island of Hawaii .

A highly polymorphic plant, shrub, or tree. The tree form can grow up to 15 m (49 ft) tall. Sophora has a golden-leaf golden-brown branch. Golden Sophora wood is dense, hard and strong.

The plant has cirrus leaves with 6―10 pairs of leaves. Each leaflet is 0.7–5 cm (0.28–2.0 in) long and 0.3–2.3 cm (0.12–0.91 in) wide. Leaves are smooth or with gray or yellow hairs on the underside.

Flowers are at the base of leaves or at the end of branches, collected in axillary or terminal brushes . Corollas are yellow. Petals 11.5–21 mm (0.45–0.83 in) long and 8–12 mm (0.31–0.79 in) wide. It blooms in winter and spring. The peak of flowering occurs in mid-spring.

The pods remain on the tree for most of the year. They are curved, from brown to brownish gray, with four lobes, 2–16 cm (0.79–6.3) cm long and usually 1.5 cm (0.59 inches) wide. The pods are tightly squeezed around yellow-orange or brown beans with a length of 6.35 mm (0.25 inches). Raw beans have 5% germination.

The hard, tough golden-leafed Sophora wood was used by Hawaiians for piles and beams up to 5 cm (2.0 inches) in diameter, stakes, spears, shank cuttings, sledgehammers, scrapers, axes and as firewood. Cattle owners used it for hedges.

In medicine, flowers are used as an astringent.

Wood was also used in religious rituals to shield against evil. The religious leader wrapped part of the trunk of the golden-leaf Sophora in dark fabric and used it as a symbol of his power. ^[3]

Golden-leafed Sophora is endangered mainly by the pale ( Loxioides bailleui ), which feeds exclusively on immature bean plants. She also makes nests in the branches of Sophora. Cydia moth caterpillars also eat Sophora beans and are in turn eaten by flower girls. Both birds and caterpillars feed on bean germs, leaving only a shell.

For other animals, Sophora golden leaf beans are extremely toxic. Mexican lentils ( Carpodacus mexicanus ) die within minutes after eating beans. Golden-leafed Sophora uses a two-level biochemical protective system: the bean shells contain about 4% phenol , which gives them an unpleasant taste and aroma. They are also slightly toxic and contain large amounts of cellulose . Animals trying to eat beans will probably not die immediately, but will have a negative experience. Bean embryos contain a lethal dose of the poisonous quinolisidine alkaloid (more than 4% of dry weight). ^{[4] The} Hawaiian flower girl and moth have developed the ability to deal with toxic substances. The Hawaiian flower girl Loxioides bailleui , for example, can take a lethal dose of cytisine , which kills a lab mouse , for a long time. Both the flower girl and the moth, as a result of natural selection, seem to be able to recognize and avoid the negative effects of most poisonous trees. Caterpillars of the Cydia moth are able to break down toxic substances. They do not remove alkaloids from their own metabolism, but they contain information about substances such as phenol contained in the bean shell. The phenol content in the bean shell, however, does not stop animals with a protective color similar to that of the golden leaf. The smell of phenol does not scare away flower girls (after all, they eat caterpillars of moths that have the smell and taste of sophora), and they do not eat the bean shell due to their low calorie content. How flower girls with poisons arrive is not known.

Wild goats and sheep willingly eat the beans of this plant, causing damage to a population of trees. Nothing is known about the toxicity of Sophora leaves; It is known that Uresiphita polygonalis virescens , whose caterpillars eat the leaves of Sophora, has a warning color. Cattle can destroy trees by trampling their roots. Fires also damage trees, although these trees can also shoot after fires. In terms of disease, the anthracnose caused by the marsupials of Botryosphaeria mamane kills infected trees (Gardner, 1997). Golden-leaved Sofora grows well in areas where there are no sheep and goats, and herds of cattle are few in number. The plant is artificially planted to restore the population of both the tree and the flower buds of Loxioides bailleui and restore the local ecosystem.

Banko et al Seed chemistry of Sophora chrysophylla (mamane) in relation to diet of specialists avian seed predator Loxioides bailleui (palila) in Hawaii

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