Ogarabana - Ogarabana

A deciduous shrub or medium-sized tree in the maple family (APG classification: Sapindaceae). The leaves are opposite, with petioles 4-12 cm long and blades 7-14 cm long and 5-15 cm wide. They are palmately divided into 5-7 shallow or moderate lobes, with somewhat coarse serrations on the edges. The winter buds have 2-3 pairs of scales. Monoecious. The flowers are pale yellow and form an upward-facing spike of 100-200 flowers. They have 5 petals, 5 sepals, and 8 stamens. They flower from June to July. The fruits have two wings and ripen in autumn. They are widely distributed in the subarctic to arctic zones of Honshu from the Kinki region northward, and from Hokkaido to northern East Asia. There is one closely related species from China to the Himalayas, and another on the eastern coast of North America. It is also called Hozakikaede (hozaki maple) because its flowers bloom in spikes. The name Ogarabana means that the wood of this maple is as fragile as hemp stems (the stems left after the bark has been peeled off), but in reality it is not that fragile.

[Ken Ogata September 17, 2020]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

カエデ科（APG分類：ムクロジ科）の落葉低木ないし中高木。葉は対生し、葉柄は4～12センチメートルで葉身は長さ7～14センチメートル、幅5～15センチメートル。掌状に5～7浅裂もしくは中裂し、縁(へり)にやや粗い鋸歯(きょし)がある。冬芽の鱗片(りんぺん)は2～3対(つい)。雌雄同株。花は淡黄色の小花で、100～200個の花が上向きの穂状花序をつくる。花弁5枚、萼片(がくへん)5枚、雄しべ8本。花期は6～7月。果実は2翼があり、秋に熟す。本州の近畿地方以北、北海道から東アジア北部の亜寒帯から寒帯に広く分布する。近縁種が中国からヒマラヤにかけて1種、北アメリカ東岸部に1種ある。花が穂状に開くのでホザキカエデともいう。オガラバナの名は、材が麻幹(おがら)（麻の皮をはいだあとの茎）のようにもろいカエデの意というが、実際にはそれほどもろくない。

［緒方　健　2020年9月17日］

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