Styphnolobium japonicum, Japanese Pagoda Tree, Umbrella Tree

Styphnolobium japonicum (previously Sophora japonica) popularly known as the Japanese pagoda tree, Chinese scholar tree or pagoda tree is a species of plant in the subfamily Faboideae in the Fabaceae / Leguminosae (Pea family). The plant is known by an assortment of common names: Japanese Pagoda Tree, Umbrella Tree, Chinese Scholar Tree, or sometimes more simply as Pagoda Tree or Scholar Tree. In contradiction to its botanical name, the Pagoda Tree is actually native to East Asia—central and northern China Japan, and Korea for thousands of years, but now extensively cultivated in temperate and subtropical regions of the world, and rarely in highlands in the tropics, in South-East Asia at least in Vietnam and Thailand. It is a popular ornamental plant in Europe, North America, and South Africa.

The plant is formerly known as Sophora japonica. Specific epithet means of Japan but this tree is not native to Japan. The tree gets its name from the tradition of being planted around Buddhist temples. Some of the original pagoda trees in the gardens at Kew were planted near to the Pagoda (built-in 1761), presumably because of their Chinese origins and their common name. In folklore, it is said that a cowherd once built a home out of this species of tree. Within a month his whole family was suddenly found dead. It was therefore believed that demons are drawn to this tree and it is therefore not suitable to use its wood to build homes. In addition, in the wild, other species of tree rarely grow near it. It is still popular as an ornamental, due to its showy inflorescences (flowering panicles) of creamy white flowers. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as food, medicine, and a source of materials. It is cultivated for medicinal purposes and as a source of rutin and is also commonly grown as an ornamental. The flower buds were formerly traded as a dyestuff for the batik industry.

Pagoda Tree Facts

Plant Description

Pagoda-tree is a small to medium-sized, deciduous perennial round-headed tree that normally grows about 65 ft. tall. It has a rapid growth rate and tolerates city conditions, heat, and drought. When grown in a yard, the Chinese Pagoda Tree can reach a height of 50-75 ft.; however, when grown along the road in compact soil, it only grows to 30-40 ft. The tree has a short stout bole, upright, spreading branches and glabrous, terete, pale green, lenticillate twigs and broad round crown. The young stems are slender, with prominently protruding nodes and smooth gray-green bark which provides some winter interest. The bark of mature trunks and branches becomes furrowed into fibrous, interlaced, scaly ridges, gray and corrugated. Young wood is smooth, dark gray-green. Old branches and trunk gradually take on rugged look of oak.

Leaves

The Pagoda tree’s leaves are pinnately compound, 6-10 inches long, composed of 7 to 17 ovate leaflets, each 1-2 inches long and about half as wide. The leaves are deep green and lustrous above and glaucous pale green beneath. The bright green leaf color lasts well into the fall (to mid-November in the Boston area), when the leaves turn yellow very briefly and drop almost immediately. The leaves are extremely pest-free.

Leaf arrangement	Alternate
Leaf type	Odd pinnately compound
Leaflet margin	Entire
Leaflet shape	Ovate
Leaflet venation	Pinnate
Leaf type and persistence	Deciduous
Leaflet blade length	Less than 2 inches
Leaf color	Green
Fall color	Yellow
Fall characteristic	Not showy

 

Flower

Styphnolobium japonicum apparently does not flower when young; flowering normally only commences when the tree is 30-40 years old. Its flowers are certainly one of its most notable features. Flowers are lightly fragrant, pale, creamy yellow to greenish-white, and about 1/2 inch long, they cover the tree in abundant pyramid-shaped terminal panicles up to 12 inches across. Old trees flower freely, especially after hot summers. Most flowers fall early to form a dense, white carpet on the ground. The pagoda tree at Kew usually flowers in September, whereas in its native China it flowers in August/September and fruits in October/November. Chinese Scholar Tree is planted as an ornamental tree in Kashmir.

Flower color	White; yellow
Flower characteristics	Showy; summer flowering

 

Fruits

The fertile flowers are followed by clusters of slender, leguminous pods that range from 2 to 4 inches long, containing 1 to 6 seeds. Each pod is constricted between the individual seeds in a way that resembles a string of beads. In the fall, the light-green pods make delicate filigree against the dark green leaves, and after the leaves drop, the pods turn olive green and remain on the tree, sometimes remaining throughout the winter. Seeds are ellipsoid to ovoid, 8 mm long and 4–5 mm wide, slightly compressed, and yellowish-brown colored.

Fruit shape	Elongated; pod
Fruit length	6 to 12 inches; 3 to 6 inches
Fruit covering	Dry or hard
Fruit color	Brown; yellow
Fruit characteristics	Does not attract wildlife; fruit, twigs, or foliage cause significant litter; persistent on

Health benefits of Pagoda Tree

Listed below are some of the popular health benefits of using pagoda trees in our regular routine

1. Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids are normally categorized as swollen and uncomfortable blood vessels around the anus. It is an unpleasant, but extremely common concern. Topical creams, ointments, and cushions are common therapies but many people reasonably prefer herbal remedies that promote venous health, rather than simply temper unpleasant symptoms.

The beneficial compounds contained within Pagoda-tree may make it one of the best herbal supplements for hemorrhoids. Troxerutin has vaso-protective properties and is a therapy for hemorrhoids. Oxymatrine is known to help reduce the swelling associated with unhealthy blood vessels.

2. Cardiovascular Health

Although Pagoda-tree promotes healthy blood vessels, it also encourages overall cardiovascular system health. It supports normal heartbeat and helps create an environment that’s less susceptible to blood clot formation. Initial animal research suggests that oxymatrine may even protect the heart and improve its functionality.

Traditional uses and benefits of Pagoda-tree

• Pagoda-tree is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine and is considered to be one of the 50 fundamental herbs.
• The flowers and flower buds are astringent, antibacterial, anti-cholesterolaemic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, hemostatic, anti-hemorrhagic, estrogenic, and hypotensive.
• They have been reputed as therapeutic relief for several types of hemorrhages (e.g. hemoptysis, epistaxis, hematuria, haematochezia, hemorrhagic hemorrhoids, and metrorrhagia) and are also useful for the treatment of hypertension, poor peripheral circulation, ophthalmia, and intestinal worms.
• Flower buds and young pods are an important source of rutin, which has ‘vitamin P’-like properties and is used in the treatment of conditions characterized by increased capillary permeability and fragility.
• Seed is emetic and hemostatic and used in the therapy of hemorrhoids, hematuria, uterine bleeding, constipation, stuffy sensation in the chest, dizziness, red eyes, headache, and hypertension.
• Leaves are laxative and used in the therapy of epilepsy and convulsions.
• Oxymatrine from Pagoda-tree has been used to treat inflammatory diseases and various types of cancer in traditional Chinese medicine.
• Buds, flowers, and pods are concocted and used in the treatment of a variety of ailments including internal hemorrhages, poor peripheral circulation, internal worms, etc.
• Decoction of the stems is used in the treatment of piles, sore eyes, and skin problems.
• It is especially recommended in orchitis, gonorrheal discharges in women, and in a bath to improve the skin.
• Its antifungal properties are used to treat yeast overgrowth and its anti-parasitic properties are used to stop abdominal pain from intestinal parasites such as roundworms, hookworms, and tapeworms.
• Pagoda tree fruit is used as an anti-inflammatory for red eyes, irritability, temper, insomnia, and other conditions in need of cooling properties.
• It is also used to promote urination, treat rosacea, and treat dysentery.
• When applied externally to the scalp, pagoda tree fruit is used to treat fungal infections and dandruff.
• Fruit is an expert in stopping bleeding and lowering blood pressure.

Culinary Uses

• Young tender leaves, shoots and twigs, flowers, and seeds are edible cooked.
• Leaves are cooked with rice and consumed.
• Shoots are sundried and boiled several times to remove the bitter elements before eating.
• Twigs are thoroughly boiled in water into which an egg is poached; the liquid is then drunk and the poached egg consumed as a home remedy for stopping hemorrhages.
• Flowers and buds are gathered and used as an important ingredient in the traditional Five Flower Tea for the hot summer season in Hong Kong.
• The leaves can also be made into a tea and edible starch is obtained from the seed.
• Seed endosperm is cooked with sugar to prepare a dessert that is eaten in Northern China.
• Young leaves and flowers can be consumed after being cooked.
• Leaves need to be cooked in three lots of water in order to remove the bitterness.
• A tea can be made from the young leaves and flowers.
• An edible starch is obtained from the seed.

Other Facts

• It is used as a component of agroforestry systems in Northern China.
• The tree was planted in the villages for obtaining raw material for paper production in Northern Indochina.
• In temperate and subtropical regions around the world, the Japanese pagoda tree is commonly cultivated as ornamental and shade trees in gardens and parks and as a roadside tree, in large parking lot islands, median strip plantings in highways or as buffer strips around parking lots.
• The pagoda tree is also widely used in bonsai gardening.
• The shoots and leaves appeared to be suitable as fodder.
• Flower buds can be used for dyeing yellow or a beautiful granite grey.
• Mixed with indigo, the dye gives a green color.
• This dye was formerly important for dyeing silk, embroidery thread, and hat tassels in Vietnam and China.
• In Java, dried flower buds were imported from China for the batik industry.
• In the fine ‘soga-batik’ process, they were used in the last fixing and coloring bath after the real coloring process, in a mixture together with rice flour, camphor, lime juice, sugar, and water.
• In China, extracts of the leaves and pods are used to adulterate opium.
• A yellow dye is obtained from the seedpods and the flowers.
• Wood is tough, light, and strong, of superior quality, and is used in carpentry, for window and door frames, agricultural implements, etc.
• Trees take 30 years to come into flower from seed.
• It is used to make the strong, curved “enju wood” handle used in traditional Japanese woodworking, known as chorea.
• Extracts of various parts of the plant are used as ingredients in commercial cosmetic preparations as a skin protector and conditioner.
• An extract of the whole plant is used as an ingredient in commercial cosmetic preparations as an emollient and skin conditioner.
• Powdered flowers are used as an ingredient in commercial cosmetic preparations as an antioxidant, hair conditioner, skin conditioner and protector.
• The seeds taste sour and are poisonous.

Precautions

• The plant contains cytosine, which resembles nicotine and is similarly toxic.
• This remedy should not be recommended for pregnant women and breastfeeding.
• It should be used with caution since it is toxic.
• Do not consume it during uterine bleeding.

 

References

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