The necklace pod (Sophora tomentosa Linnaeus) [sof' or a toe men toe' sah] is a member of the Fabaceae (Leguminosae), the family of peas and beans. Like other members of the family, necklace pod has a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

Necklace pod has a natural distribution in subtropical and tropical climates around the world--Americas, Africa, Australia, Japan, and other Pacific islands. Although this shrub has a wide range, it is never found far from coastal areas, some varieties even growing on open dunes.

The velvety silver foliage and almost continuous blooming makes it an attractive addition to the landscape especially for homes near beaches. The shrub is a host plant for caterpillars of sulphur butterflies (Family: Pieridae). The flowers are said to attract ruby-throated hummingbirds.

According to Gray's Manual of Botany (1989), the genus designation, Sophora, was a name used for an "allied plant" in the distant past. According to the Century Unabridged Dictionary (1889), Sophora was derived from the Arabic sofāra and is believed to have referred to a faded yellow plant (pale yellow flowers?).

The common name, necklace pod, refers to the plant's moniliform (constricted at intervals) seed pod. The shrub is called mamane in Hawaii and sea-coast laburnum in Australia. In both Australia and Hawaii, invasive exotic shrubs are encroaching into natural stands of Sophora tomentosa.

The seeds contain cytisine, a strongly emetic and purgative toxin. They should be kept out of reach of young children. A related species (Sophora secundiflora) from the desert southwest and Mexico was used by natives in religious rituals.