Kobushi - Fist

A deciduous tall tree of the Magnoliaceae family (APG classification: Magnoliaceae). The flowers bloom before the leaves unfold, making the whole tree appear white, and they stand out in the bare mountains and fields of winter. It has long been popular as a flowering tree that heralds the arrival of spring, and was also used as a sign to start farm work under the names of rice-grass-like plants. However, it is often confused with the closely related Japanese laurel tree, and outside of Hokkaido and the Kanto region, it is often the Japanese laurel tree that is called the Magnoliaceae.

Magnolia magnolia has thin calyxes that are about one-sixth the length of the petals, and the petals are pale milky white. There is often a single young leaf just below the flower. The trunk is slightly curved, the leaves are obovate and slightly rough, and the flowering season is different, so it is relatively easy to distinguish from Magnolia japonica. It is distributed in Honshu, Kyushu, and Korea (Jeju Island), and those in Hokkaido are sometimes distinguished as a variant of Magnolia japonica. It is famous worldwide as a flowering tree and is used as a rootstock for grafting other Magnolia genus trees. In Japan, it is used as a substitute for the Chinese medicine magnolia.

[Kunihiko Ueda August 21, 2018]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

モクレン科（APG分類：モクレン科）の落葉高木。花は葉の展開の前に木全体が白くみえるほど咲き、冬枯れの山野でよく目だつ。古くから春を告げる花木として親しまれ、田打ち桜などの名で農作業を始める目安ともされていた。しかし近縁のタムシバと混同され、北海道と関東以外では、コブシとよばれているのはタムシバの場合が多い。

　コブシは、萼(がく)が花弁の6分の1ほどの長さで細く、花弁は淡乳白色、花のすぐ下に若葉を1枚伴うことが多い。また、幹が多少曲がっており、葉も倒卵形ですこしざらつき、花期も違うのでタムシバとは比較的容易に区別できる。本州、九州、朝鮮（済州島）に分布し、北海道のものは変種キタコブシとして区別されることもある。世界的に花木として有名で、またほかのモクレン属の接木(つぎき)の台木として利用される。日本では漢方の辛夷(しんい)の代用品として使われる。

［植田邦彦　2018年8月21日］

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