what is Sophora japonica?
typhnolobium japonicum (L.) Schott, the Pagoda Tree (Chinese Scholar, Japanese pagodatree; syn. Sophora japonica) is a species of tree in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae.
It was formerly included within a broader interpretation of the genus Sophora. The species of Styphnolobium differ fromSophora in lacking the ability to form symbioses with rhizobia (nitrogen
fixing bacteria) on their roots. It also differs from the related genus Calia (mescalbeans) in having deciduous leaves and flowers in axillary, not terminal, racemes. The leaves are pinnate, with
9-21 leaflets, and the flowers in pendulous racemes similar to those of the Black locust;