Torreya nucifera; Japanese torreya

Japanese: カヤ(榧) - カヤ（英語表記）Torreya nucifera; Japanese torreya

An evergreen tall tree of the Taxaceae family. It grows wild in the mountains and fields of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, but is also planted as a garden tree. It grows to a height of 15-20m. The bark is gray and smooth, but on old trees it peels off vertically. The leaves are leathery, lanceolate, linear, 2-3cm long, and sharp at the tip, which hurts when touched. The upper surface is dark green and glossy, while the lower surface is light green and has two stomatal lines. They grow pinnately on both sides of the branches. They are dioecious, and bloom around April, with male flowers lined up on the underside of the branches, and female flowers, which are only ovules, grow as ellipsoids 1-2cm long at the ends of the branches. They ripen to a purple-brown color in the autumn of the following year. The endosperm can be roasted for food, or used to make high-quality oil for tempura. Shibunashigaya, T. nucifera var. shibunashigaya , which grows in the Chubu region, is particularly high quality. The wood is used for foundations, bridges, buckets, Go and Shogi boards, and pieces. The dried seeds of the herb 'Hijitsu' are said to be effective in eliminating duodenal worms.

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

Japanese:

イチイ科の常緑高木。本州，四国，九州の山野に自生するが，庭木としても植える。高さ 15～20mになる。樹皮は灰色でなめらかであるが，老木では縦にはげる。葉は革質で披針状線形，長さ2～3cmで先端はとがり，触れると痛い。表面は濃緑色で光沢があり，裏面は淡緑色で2本の気孔線がある。枝の左右に羽状につく。雌雄異株で，4月頃開花し雄花は枝の下面に並び，雌花は胚珠だけで枝先に1～2cmの楕円体となってつく。翌年秋に紫褐色に熟する。胚乳はあぶって食用にするほか，てんぷら用の高級油をとる。特に中部地方に産するシブナシガヤ T. nucifera var. shibunashigayaは最も品質がよい。材は土台，橋，桶，碁・将棋盤，駒などに用いる。種子を乾燥した生薬の「榧実 (ひじつ) 」は十二指腸虫駆除の効があるという。

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