Gyokushinka - Gyokushinka

Japanese: ギョクシンカ - ぎょくしんか

An evergreen shrub of the Rubiaceae family that grows under evergreen forests in warm climates and is endemic to Japan (illustration). The flowers are very beautiful, but perhaps because they are difficult to cultivate, they are not particularly used. The stems are upright and 1-3m tall. The leaves are elliptical and 9-20cm long. They are inhabited by nitrogen-fixing leaf-grain bacteria, which can produce fungal pellets. The flowers are gathered at the ends of the stems in large corymbs that bloom from March to July. The corolla is pure white, the tube is 6mm long, and the recurved lobes are 4-5, 9mm long. The style is rod-shaped and protrudes long.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

温暖地の常緑樹林下に生えるアカネ科の日本特産の常緑性低木（イラスト）。花はたいへん美しいが，栽培がむずかしいためか，とくに利用されることはない。茎は直立し高さ1～3m。葉は楕円形，長さ9～20cm，窒素固定をする葉粒バクテリアが共生し，菌粒ができることがある。花は茎の先端に集まって大きな散房状となり，3～7月に咲く。花冠は純白，筒部は長さ6mm，反曲する裂片は4～5枚，長さ9mm。花柱は棒状で長くつき出る。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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