Buckthorn - Blackthorn imitation

It is a deciduous shrub of the family Rhamnaceae (APG classification: Rhamnaceae) with a wide variety of species. The branches are grey with sharp thorns at the end that are modified short branches. The leaves are broadly obovate and 2-8 cm long. The flowers are yellowish green and grow in bunches at the base of the branches that emerge in the same year in April-May. The fruits are drupes that ripen to black. It grows in mountainous areas and is distributed from Hokkaido to Kyushu. The variant Ezo no kuromedoki (Ezo kuromedoki) has large leaves with hairs at the branching points of the veins on the underside, and is distributed in Hokkaido and the Sea of ​​Japan side of Honshu. The young leaves are edible. In traditional Chinese medicine, the dried fruits are called sori shi (mouse li zi) and are used as a laxative. There are about 100 species of Rhamna, mainly in the Northern Hemisphere, and 7 species are distributed in Japan. The same genus, the black laurel, has thorns and resembles the buckthorn, but its leaves are oblong and it is dioecious.

[Yuichi Kadota December 13, 2019]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

クロウメモドキ科（APG分類：クロウメモドキ科）の落葉低木で変異に富む。枝は灰色、先に短枝が変形した鋭い刺(とげ)がある。葉は広倒卵形、長さ2～8センチメートル。花は黄緑色で、4～5月、当年に出た枝の基部に束状につく。果実は核果で黒く熟す。山地に生え、北海道から九州に分布する。変種エゾノクロウメモドキ（エゾクロウメモドキ）は葉が大きく、裏面の脈の分岐点に毛があるもので、北海道と本州の日本海側に分布する。若葉を食用とする。漢方では干した果実を鼠李子(そりし)と称し、下剤とする。クロウメモドキ属は北半球を中心に約100種があり、日本には7種が分布する。同属のクロツバラは刺があってクロウメモドキに似るが、葉が長楕円(ちょうだえん)形で、雌雄異株である。

［門田裕一　2019年12月13日］

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