Pourthiaea villosa

Japanese: ウシコロシ（英語表記）Pourthiaea villosa

A deciduous shrub of the Rosaceae family. It is found in the mountains and fields of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. The leaves are alternate, broadly obovate or narrowly obovate, abruptly pointed at the tip, wedge-shaped at the base, and have fine sharp sawtooth edges. In spring, corymbs are produced at the ends of the branches, densely covered with small white five-petaled flowers. The fruits are egg-shaped, 7-9 mm long, and red when ripe. The wood is hard and durable, and does not break easily, so it is used for the handles of sickles and scythes. It is said that the name "cow killer" came from the fact that this wood is used to make holes between the nostrils when putting a ring through a cow's nose. Another name for this tree is Kamatsuka, which means sickle handle.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

バラ科の落葉低木。本州，四国，九州の山野にみられる。葉は互生し，広倒卵形ないし狭倒卵形で先は急にとがり，基部は楔形をして，縁に先のとがった細かい鋸歯がある。春，枝先に散房花序をつくって，白色5弁の小花が密につく。果実は卵状球形で長さ7～9mm，赤熟する。材は堅くじょうぶで折れにくいので，鎌やげんのうの柄などに用いられる。牛の鼻に輪を通すとき，この木で鼻孔の仕切りに穴をあけるので牛殺しという名がついたという。別名カマツカは鎌の柄という意味である。

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