Name: Necklace pod
Botanical name: Sophora tomentosa var. truncata
Description: Until this native shrub develops fruit, it's hard to see why it would be given its common name. Then, when it dangles a few pods, it's a duh moment: of course.
A native of coastal hammocks, this loose-growing shrub is generally wider than tall if given its head. Compound leaves have roundish leaflets, each with the tiniest notch in the apex. The Institute for Regional Conservation says the leaves with dense hairs (and grayish appearance) indicate the shrub comes from the West Indies and is Sophora tomentosa var. occidentalis.
The Florida native and the West Indian varieties like coastal areas and are salt-tolerant. Hummingbirds and butterflies like the terminal spikes of yellow flowers that open from the bottom up.
Height: 8 to 10 feet
Light: full sun
Culture: Use this in the back of your butterfly garden but give it plenty of room for air circulation in order to avoid fungus. The shrub gets rangy, and you may want to prune it. Avoid making it a hedge: the flowers grow on the ends of the branches. Once established, this shrub requires little care other than pruning.
