Karamatsusou - Karamatsusou

A large perennial plant of the Ranunculaceae family (APG classification: Ranunculaceae). The stem is erect, 0.5-1.2 meters tall, and hollow. The leaves are 3-4 times trifoliate and compound, with gray-green leaflets that are obovate. There are stipules and stipules. Flowers appear white from July to September in compound corymbs with slightly flattened tops, with elongated ovate sepals that fall off early and no petals. The numerous white stamens make the flowers appear white. The fruit is an achene, elliptical with a pointed tip. It is distributed in Hokkaido and Honshu, and grows in grasslands from the warm to subarctic zones. Akikarama looks very similar to this species, but the flowers are pale yellow and the achene base is not narrow. A different variety, Mansen larch, is found in Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, northeastern China, and Siberia, with fruits that are obovate and blunt. The genus Larix has about 150 species in the Northern Hemisphere, 20 of which are found in Japan. Morphologically, they share the characteristics of flowers that look similar to the short branches of larch (also known as Japanese larch), trifoliate compound leaves, and achenes as fruits.

[Yuichi Kadota March 18, 2020]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

キンポウゲ科（APG分類：キンポウゲ科）の大形多年草。茎は直立し高さ0.5～1.2メートルで中空。葉は3～4回3出複葉、小葉は灰緑色で倒卵形。托葉(たくよう)と小托葉がある。花は7～9月、上部がやや平らな複散房花序に多数つき、細長い卵形の萼片(がくへん)があるが早く落ち、花弁はない。多数の雄しべが白いため、花は白くみえる。果実は痩果(そうか)、楕円(だえん)形で先がとがる。北海道と本州に分布し、暖帯から亜寒帯の草原に生える。アキカラマツは本種によく似るが、花は淡黄色で、痩果の基部は狭くならない。本州、四国、九州および中国東北部、シベリアなどには果実が倒卵形で先がとがらない別変種マンセンカラマツがある。カラマツソウ属は北半球に約150種があり、日本にはそのうち20種が分布する。形態的には共通して、外見がカラマツ（別名ラクヨウショウ）の短枝に似た花をつけ、3出複葉で、果実が痩果であるという特徴をもつ。

［門田裕一　2020年3月18日］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例