Sophora davidii

David’s kōwhai is a small tree in the pea or Fabaceae family, native to China (provinces of Gansu, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan and Zhejiang). It is a deciduous, spiny, multi-stemmed shrub or small tree growing 1–2 m in height, rarely 3–4 m.

• Branches are glabrous; sterile branches are spiny at the tip; some spines are branched.
• Leaves are pinnately compound, 4–8 cm long, with 11–19 small elliptic blue-green, ovate leaflets 1 cm long, apex rounded, usually with a mucro (a short, sharp point).
• Flowers are small, fragrant, pea-like, pale blue/white, in 15 cm terminal racemes 6–12 flowers each, blooming in late spring through summer.