Sorbus torminalis
Wild service tree Ht 10-25m
Europe to N. Africa. Broadly even crown, deciduous, terminal clusters of white flowers in early summer. Russet brown edible fruits with golden brown autumn colours. Timber valued for cabinet work. Rare in NZ.
Group trees and shrubs:
Yes
Categories:
- Medium tree
- Deciduous
- Attractive autumn colours - yellow
- Attractive autumn colours - brown
- Attractive flowers or catkins
- Attractive to birds
- Attractive berries fruits or cone
- Attracts bees
Sorbus domestica
True Service tree Ht 10-15m
S. Europe. Broadly columnar, deciduous. Fairly dense crown. Clusters of white flowers in spring followed by 2.5cm green fruits like small apples or pears. The very sour fruit used in Europe to make a beer. Highly figured timber for furniture. Rare.
Group trees and shrubs:
Yes
Categories:
- Medium tree
- Deciduous
- Attractive autumn colours - yellow
- Attractive flowers or catkins
- Attractive to birds
- Attractive berries fruits or cone
- Attracts bees
- Edible fruits and seeds
Sorbus devoniensis
Devon form - Sorbus aria Ht 8-12m
Localised in Devon, UK. Broadly columnar deciduous. Dark green leaves - grey beneath. White flowers,bunches of orange, turning brown speckled fruits in late summer. Does well in South Island soils.
Group trees and shrubs:
Yes
Categories:
- Small Tree
- Deciduous
- Attractive flowers or catkins
- Attractive to birds
- Attractive berries fruits or cone
- Attracts bees
Sorbus aucuparia
Rowan Ht 5-15m
European mountain ash. Broadly conical deciduous. Leaves pinnate turning orange in colder areas. White flowers in clusters then red berries. Suited to colder areas. Berries rich in vitamin C for jelly and herbal remedies.
Group trees and shrubs:
Yes
Categories:
- Small Tree
- Deciduous
- Tolerates exposed sites
- Tolerates dry sites
- Attractive autumn colours - red
- Attractive flowers or catkins
- Attractive to birds
- Attractive berries fruits or cone
- Attracts bees
- Edible fruits and seeds
Sophora tetraptera (POT grown)
Kowhai - North Island Ht 5-15m
Endemic to the East of North Island, now widely planted. Branches spreading sometimes pendulous. Branchlets clad in a golden yellow or grey tomentum. Leaves 100-150mm with 10-20 pairs of grey-green leaflets well spaced, never crowded or overlapping, densely clad in silky straight appressed hairs. Up to 10 flowers in a bunch Sept.-Dec., nectar attracting tuis , bellbirds and bees. The wood is very hard and durable.
Group trees and shrubs:
No
Categories:
- Small Tree
- NZ native
- Evergreen
- Attractive flowers or catkins
- Attractive to birds
- Attractive berries fruits or cone
- Attracts bees
- Container Grown
Sophora molloyi 'Dragon's Gold' (POT grown)
Kowhai - Winter flowering Ht 1.5m
A clone selected by Blue Mountain Nurseries originating from Stephens Island in Cook Strait, home of the tuatara and produced by cuttings. A dense sprawling evergreen shrub flowering in July, attracting tuis and bellbirds. Tolerates cold, drought and coastal gales.
Group trees and shrubs:
No
Categories:
- Shrub
- NZ native
- Evergreen
- Resistant to salt spray
- Tolerates exposed sites
- Tolerates dry sites
- Attractive flowers or catkins
- Attractive to birds
- Container Grown
Sophora molloyi (POT grown)
Kowhai - Cook Strait Ht 1-3m
Bushy sprawling evergreen shrub restricted to Cook Strait Islands and S. North Island bluffs. No divaricating juvenile stage. Leaves up tp 100mm long, petiolules & rachides channelled above, leaflets 23-37 similar in size, not crowded or overlapping. Petiolules usually pubescent with other leaflet parts. Apr -Oct up to 5 flowers, part hidden in foliage, up to 9 light brown to yellow seeds.
Group trees and shrubs:
No
Categories:
- Shrub
- NZ native
- Evergreen
- Resistant to salt spray
- Tolerates exposed sites
- Tolerates dry sites
- Attractive flowers or catkins
- Attractive to birds
- Attractive berries fruits or cone
- Attracts bees
- Erosion control
- Container Grown
Sophora microphylla (POT grown)
Kowhai - South Island Ht 5-25m
Can grow to 25m usually a single trunk, branches weeping and spreading. Adult leaflets 30-50, not crowded or overlapping, of similar size, with an obvious petiolule, moderately to sparcely hairy, hairs straight and appressed. Leaves >30mm, leaflet pairs >6. Juveniles divaricating and interlacing branching. Can be deciduous in a cold climate. To 7 Yellow flowers in a bunch in Spring attract tuis and bellbirds, pigeons feed on the leaves.
Group trees and shrubs:
No
Categories:
- Small Tree
- NZ native
- Evergreen
- Tolerates wet sites
- Tolerates exposed sites
- Tolerates dry sites
- Attractive flowers or catkins
- Attractive to birds
- Attractive berries fruits or cone
- Attracts bees
- Erosion control
- Container Grown
Sophora longicarinata (POT grown)
Kowhai - Golden Bay Ht 4-5m
Endemic to marble and limestone soils in NW Nelson & W Marlborough. Tree with single straight trunk or a multi-stemmed shrub. Leaves 140mm with 35-54 small equal-sized leaflets, much finer and less dense than other kowhai. Flowers
lemon-yellow Oct-Jan. No divaricating juvenile stage.
Group trees and shrubs:
No
Categories:
- Small Tree
- NZ native
- Evergreen
- Tolerates dry sites
- Attractive flowers or catkins
- Attractive to birds
- Attractive berries fruits or cone
- Attracts bees
- Container Grown
Sophora howinsula (POT grown)
Lord Howe Is. kowhai (syn.'Gnome') Ht 3-4m
Native to Lord Howe Island, part of the largely submerged Zealandia, on which NZ sits. Small stocky evergreen tree with a lignotuber at ground level. Pinnate leaves 5-10cm long larger than S. tetraptera. Larger yellow flowers July to Sept. 7-12cm pods contain smooth orange-brown seeds. Wood is hard and durable.
vergreen, with upright vase shaped slightly arching branches.
Larger leaves and much larger flowers. Hardy, slower than most kowhai. Suitable for a small garden. Known by the name 'Gnome'.
Group trees and shrubs:
No
Categories:
- Shrub
- NZ native
- Evergreen
- Tolerates dry sites
- Attractive flowers or catkins
- Attractive to birds
- Attractive berries fruits or cone
- Attracts bees
- Container Grown
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