The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Sophora chathamica
Also called Chatham Island Kowhai, Coastal Kowhai
Coastal kōwhai is a small New Zealand tree, up to about 6 m tall, native to the north-west of the North Island and the Chatham Islands, prized for its yellow spring flowers. It is grown in sunny, free-draining sites and is a tolerant, low-maintenance garden tree.
Sophora chathamica, the coastal kōwhai, sometimes known as Chatham Island kōwhai, is one of 8 species of native sophora or kōwhai in New Zealand and grows naturally in the north-west of the North Island in New Zealand, as far south as the Tongaporutu River in north Taranaki, and as far north as Te Paki. It can also be found growing near Wellington and the Chatham Islands, although these later plantings are thought to be a result of Māori plantings in the late 18th century and early 19th century. Prior to 2001, it was included as variant of Sophora microphylla, therefore references to either Sophora microphylla var. chathamica or Sophora microphylla subsp. microphylla var. chathamica are considered references to coastal kowhai.
Coastal kōwhai is available from nurseries throughout New Zealand. There are also several cultivars available, including:
The cultivar Milligold was selected by Duncan & Davies nursery for the new millennium (as Sophora microphylla var. chathamica, the classification in use at the time). It forms a small, compact tree with weeping branches and is sometimes listed as an evergreen.
Sophora alopecuroides · Sophora cassioides · Mamani · Sophora fernandeziana · Shrubby sophora · Brush Sophora · Waitakere Kowhai · Godley’s Kōwhai · Lord Howe Kowhai · Western necklacepod · Sophora longicarinata · Sophora macrocarpa
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Sophora chathamica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
