I've run across some spare time (a rarity I tell you) so I thought I might as well do something semi-productive, such as another species (or maybe two, you never know)!
And what better species to do than New Zealand's national flower, the Kowhai!
Kowhai (Latin name: Sophora microphylla) are a large tree with long stemmed leaves and oppositely arranged leaflets. they often have dark brown, knobbly seed pods hanging in with their leaves and are deciduous. The leaves and seeds are highly poisonous and should not be eaten, so this tree is probably not suitable for the gardens of families with small children.
The bright yellow flowers appear in spring, are shaped similar to bells, and are very attractive to wild birds such as Tui, Wood Pigeons, and Waxeyes/Silvereyes. Planting one of these in your garden will attract them, but Kowhai do take a while to mature as they are slow growing.
Kowhai have also got medicinal properties. An infusion of certain parts of plant the was used by Māori as a cure for many things, including dandruff, irritated skin, gonorrhea, scabies, and many other aches and pains. Unfortunately I am not sure what part of the plant was infused (and do not plan to become part of an experiment in order to find out).
Kowhai are a bit tricky to grow from seed, as their yellow seeds have a very hard testa (outer coat). if you can make a small cut in this with a pocket knife or something similar, and sit them on a windowsill in a jam lid with some water, they may germinate (this is not foolproof).
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