Octopus tree - Octopus tree

Japanese: タコノキ - たこのき

An evergreen tree of the family Pandanusaceae (APG classification: Pandanusaceae). A native of the Ogasawara Islands, it has numerous aerial roots that grow from the middle of the stem to support it. It was named after the thick aerial roots that look like octopus legs. It is dioecious. Female plants produce pineapple-shaped fruits about 20 centimeters long that turn orange-yellow when ripe, and the seeds are edible.

Pandanus is widely distributed in the tropics and subtropics of Asia, Africa, and the Pacific Islands, and is said to have 250 to 650 species. It is difficult to tell them apart, so many different species are often referred to as tako-noki. Pandanus odoratissimus has wider leaves than Pandanus, can reach 1.5 meters in length, and is densely covered with short, sharp thorns on the edges and midvein on the underside. There is also Pandanus thornii, which has no thorns at all. It is widely distributed in tropical Asia south of Okinawa. Pandanus utilis Bory is native to Madagascar. Its leaves are beautifully spirally shaped and planted in ornamental greenhouses. Pandanus veitchii hort. Veitch ex Mast. et Moore has beautiful white spots on the edges of its leaves, and small seedlings are grown in pots. There are also thornless horticultural varieties. P. dubius K.Spreng. has short, wide leaves and few thorns. It looks good even in small pots. In tropical regions, P. sanderi hort. Sander ex MTMast., which has beautiful yellow spots and no thorns, is often cultivated in gardens.

This genus of plant is high-temperature tolerant, preferring temperatures above 15℃, and is difficult to cultivate at home. It is resistant to wind and salt, so it is often planted along coastlines as a windbreak. The leaves are used as material for weaving hats, mats, etc.

[Takabayashi Masatoshi October 19, 2018]

Cultural history

On islands in the Pacific Ocean, the Pandanus species is used for roofs, walls, and flooring, as well as for baskets and hats, and its seeds are edible. The Yami people of Orchid Island in Taiwan cultivate a variety and eat the flesh as a fruit. Pandanus was named after its aerial roots, which resemble the legs of an octopus, and in Okinawa, one species, P. odoratissimus Lf, is called Pandanus. The name Pandanus is a omission of the initial consonant p of Pandan, the name used from the Philippines to Malaysia. Furthermore, according to Yasuji Fujita, the Satsuma (Kagoshima Prefecture) dialect "eran" is related to the Nicobar Islands' "leran" ("Leran") ("Biological Sciences," Vol. 26, No. 1), which indicates exchange with the south. In the commentary on Rokai (aloe) in Hiraga Gennai's Butsurui Hinshitsu (1763), it is stated that the shape of the aloe is similar to that of the Toadan plant that was brought from early modern Ryukyu, and this indicates that the plant was also brought to the mainland during the Edo period.

[Hiroshi Yuasa October 19, 2018]

[Reference item] | Pandanus

Octopus tree
An evergreen tree endemic to the Ogasawara Islands. Numerous aerial roots resembling octopus legs grow from the middle of the stem. ©Shogakukan ">

Octopus tree

Pandanus fruit
It is about 20cm long and pineapple-shaped. It turns orange-yellow when mature, and the seeds are edible .

Pandanus fruit

Octopus tree (tree shape)
©Junzo Fujishima ">

Octopus tree (tree shape)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

タコノキ科（APG分類：タコノキ科）の常緑樹。小笠原(おがさわら)諸島特産で、茎の途中から多数の気根を伸ばし、茎を支える。太い気根がタコの脚(あし)のようにみえるので名がついた。雌雄異株。雌株は長さ約20センチメートルのパイナップル状の果実をつけ、成熟すると橙黄(とうこう)色になり、種子は食用とする。

　タコノキ（パンダナス）属はアジア、アフリカ、太平洋諸島の熱帯から亜熱帯に広く分布し、250～650種あるといわれる。見分けがむずかしく、いろいろな種類を総称してタコノキとよぶことが多い。アダンP. odoratissimusはタコノキより葉幅が広く、長さは1.5メートルに達し、縁(へり)と裏面の中央脈に短く鋭い刺(とげ)を密生する。刺のまったくないトゲナシアダンもある。沖縄以南の熱帯アジアに広く分布する。ビョウタコノキ（アカタコノキ）P. utilis Boryはマダガスカル原産。葉は螺旋(らせん)状に美しくつき観賞温室に植えられる。シマタコノキP. veitchii hort. Veitch ex Mast. et Mooreは葉の縁に白斑(はくはん)が入って美しく、小苗を鉢栽培する。刺のない園芸品種もある。ドゥビウスP. dubius K.Spreng.は葉幅が広くて短く、刺は少ない。小鉢づくりにしても草姿がよい。熱帯地方では黄斑が美しく、刺のないサンデリP. sanderi hort. Sander ex M.T.Mast.が庭園でよく栽培される。

　本属植物は高温性で、15℃以上が好ましく、一般家庭での栽培はむずかしい。風と塩に強いので、防風用として海岸線によく植えられる。葉は帽子、マットなどを編む材料として用いられる。

［高林成年　2018年10月19日］

文化史

タコノキの類は太平洋上の島々では屋根や壁や床材、また、籠(かご)や帽子に利用され、種子の仁は食用にされる。台湾の蘭嶼(らんしょ)のヤミ族は栽培品種をもち、果肉を果物として食べる。タコノキは気根の状態をタコの足に見立てた命名だが、沖縄ではその1種P. odoratissimus L.f.をアダンとよぶ。アダンの名はフィリピンからマレーシアにかけての呼び名のパンダンpandanの頭子音pが省略された音である。さらに薩摩(さつま)（鹿児島県）方言エランは、藤田安二によるとニコバル諸島のレランleramと関連するといい（『生物科学』第26巻1号）、南方との交流を物語る。平賀源内(ひらがげんない)の『物類品隲(ぶつるいひんしつ)』（1763）の盧会(ろかい)（アロエ）の解説中に、近世琉球より来所のトウアダンの形態に似るとあり、江戸時代、本土にももたらされたことが知れる。

［湯浅浩史　2018年10月19日］

[参照項目] | アダン

タコノキ

タコノキの果実

タコノキ〔樹形〕

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

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