Sasa (bamboo grass)

Japanese: ササ(笹) - ササ（英語表記）Sasa; bamboo grass

A plant of the grass family with long woody culms. It is found mainly in Japan, the Korean Peninsula, Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands. Together with bamboo species, it is considered to be a species of bamboo and bamboo grass, but the distinction between bamboo and bamboo grass is not clear. The rhizomes crawl underground and produce sparse culms. The culms stand upright from the rhizomes, are hollow and cylindrical, have nodes, and are usually about 2m tall. Branches grow one at a time from each node, but some (such as Miyakozasa) do not produce branches. The leaves are broad lanceolate or oblong, large, with parallel veins and hairy edges, and several alternate leaves grow at the tip of the culm. The base of the leaves are articulated into a sheath that remains even after the leaves fall. Many species rarely flower, and the entire plant usually withers after fruiting. The inflorescences grow from the lower and upper parts of the culm, are cone-shaped, and produce sparse flowers ranging from a few to a dozen. They often form large colonies. Many species are known, but the main ones are Kumazasa, Azumazasa, Chimakizasa, Yadake, and Suzutake.

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

Japanese:

イネ科の植物で，木質化した長い稈をもつ。日本を中心に朝鮮半島，サハリン，千島列島に分布する。タケ類と合せて，いわゆるタケ・ササ類とされるが，そのなかでのタケとササの区別は明瞭ではない。根茎は地下を長くはい，稈をまばらに生じる。稈は根茎から直立し，中空の円筒形で節があり高さ 2mほどのものが多い。枝は1つの節から1本ずつ伸びるが，枝を出さないもの (ミヤコザサ) もある。葉は広披針形ないし長楕円形で大きく，平行脈が走り縁には毛があり，稈の先端部に数枚が互生する。葉の基部は鞘に関節し落葉後も鞘は残る。花はまれに咲くものが多く，結実後株全体が枯れるのが普通である。花序は稈の下方および上方より生じ，円錐状で数個から十数個の花を疎生する。大きな群落をつくることが多い。多数の種が知られているが，おもな種として，クマザサ，アズマザサ，チマキザサ，ヤダケ，スズタケなどがある。

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