Dandelion - Dandelion

Japanese: タンポポ - たんぽぽ

A perennial herb of the Asteraceae family. The leaves grow at the base of the plant in a rosette shape, and split into various shapes. When cut, milky juice comes out. In April and May, a single large yellow flower head, 3.5 to 5 cm in diameter, grows at the end of a hollow flower stalk. The flower head consists of only ray flowers, and opens in the morning and closes in the evening. The involucre consists of linear inner involucre segments and ovate to linear lanceolate outer involucre segments, which are usually compressed (recurved in the case of Dandelion). The tips of the involucre segments have horn-like protrusions. After flowering, the flower stalk creeps above the ground, and when the fruit ripens, it stands upright again, and the parachute-shaped pappus-bearing achene is dispersed by the wind. While most species in the genus Dandelion are polyploid and reproduce asynchronously, this species is diploid (chromosome number 2 n = 16) and reproduces sexually, and is considered primitive. It has strong self-incompatibility and will not bear fruit from pollen from the same plant.

It grows on roadsides and banks in human settlements, and is distributed from the southern Tohoku region to Kitakyushu. The shape of the flower head varies geographically, and in each region it is called Kansai dandelion (Kansai region to Kitakyushu), Tokai dandelion (Shizuoka prefecture), Shinano dandelion (Koshinetsu region), Kanto dandelion (Kanto region), etc. As urbanization progresses, its numbers are decreasing, while the naturalized common dandelion (Dandelion) is increasing, and it is attracting attention as an environmental indicator plant.

There are about 2,000 species in the dandelion genus, found in the temperate and cold zones of the Northern Hemisphere, and about 10 other species grow wild in Japan, including the Siberian dandelion, the Miyama dandelion, and the white-flowered dandelion. The white-flowered dandelion is unique in that it produces white flower heads, and grows in human settlements, and is common from the Kanto region west of Honshu to Okinawa, and especially in the Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu regions. It is a pentaploid ( 2n = 40) plant that reproduces asynchronously, and is larger than a dandelion overall.

[Tatsuyoshi Morita]

Cultural history

Dandelions are common plants found in villages and fields, but there are no mentions of them in the Manyoshu or Heian literature. In the Honzo Wamyo (c. 918) and Wamyoruijusho (c. 931-938), the Chinese name for dandelion, dandelion, is given the Japanese names Tana (Tana, Taina) and Fuchina (Fuchina). Tana means rice plant, and some believe that the name dandelion originated from Tana being transformed into Tan, with the addition of hoho, which means the seed pappus (fluff) unfolding after flowering (Wakun no Shiori, Daigenkai). Conversely, there is also a theory that Tana comes from Hahakogusa or Tabirako. If you cut the flower stalk of a dandelion short, split both ends, and soak it in water, both ends will curl radially, resembling the shape of a drum. Kunio Yanagita and Hiroshi Nakamura suggested that the name dandelion was created by linking the plant to the sound of a beating drum (tamponpon). The name dandelion appears in documents from the Edo period, and was also used in flower arranging. In the Nageirebanadensho (1684), it is included among plants whose roots do not burn, and its flowers are listed as yellow and white. Also, in the Edo period, the seeds were sown, and the leaves were boiled and eaten as stews, salads, or soups. The common dandelion is still a vegetable in France and other countries, and there are improved varieties. The seeds of the common dandelion were introduced by Brooks, an American teacher at Sapporo Agricultural College, in the early Meiji period, and they spread to Hokkaido. Furthermore, in the 1870s, they were imported from France to Tokyo as a vegetable. In China, it was already being used as a lactophile and stomachic medicine during the Tang dynasty. The Chinese name for dandelion, dandelion, is thought to be a corruption of the similar-sounding bogong zei, with 'ou' meaning poppy, and it is similar to the English pronunciation of 'ou' in that it exudes a milky juice when bruised. In Europe, the flowers and roots were used as medicines to strengthen the liver, as a diuretic, and tonic, and the roasted roots were used as a coffee substitute. In Europe, there is a game in which you blow on a fluff to indicate whether you are loved or not, and see which fluff remains to tell your love story. In China, pillows were made by stuffing the fluff into them.

[Hiroshi Yuasa]

Major species of the dandelion genus (pictures of specimens)
©Kanzo Otawa ">

Major species of the dandelion genus (pictures of specimens)

Dandelion
It grows naturally in lowlands in Hokkaido and the Tohoku region, and in mountainous areas south of the Kanto region. In April and May, it produces deep yellow flower heads that reach a diameter of 5 cm. ©Shogakukan Photo by Masatoshi Hirose ">

Dandelion

Kanto dandelion
A perennial plant that grows in grasslands and on banks. From April to May, a single yellow flower head measuring 3.5 to 5 cm in diameter blooms at the end of the flower stalk. ©Shogakukan Photo by Okuyama Hisashi ">

Kanto dandelion

White flowered dandelion
A unique species that produces white flower heads and is larger than a dandelion overall. Common in the Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu regions. ©Shogakukan Photo by Hideyuki Asakura ">

White flowered dandelion

Dandelion
Found in the high mountains of Honshu. Compared to other species, the leaves are shallower incised. ©Shogakukan Photo by Okuyama Hisashi ">

Dandelion

Dandelion achenes
At the tip of each fruit there is a pappus that is a modified calyx lobe, and it floats away on the wind. ©Shogakukan Photo by Hideyuki Asakura ">

Dandelion achenes

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

キク科の多年草。葉は根生してロゼット状をなし、さまざまな形に羽裂する。切ると乳液が出る。4～5月、中空の花茎の先に径3.5～5センチメートルと大きな黄色の頭花を1個つける。頭花は舌状花のみからなり、朝開き夕方閉じる。総包は線形の内総包片と卵形から線状披針(ひしん)形の外総包片からなり、外総包片は普通圧着する（セイヨウタンポポでは反曲）。総包片の先端には角(つの)状の突起がある。花期後、花茎は地をはい、果実が熟すとふたたび直立し、パラシュート形の冠毛のある痩果(そうか)が風によって散布される。タンポポ属の多くの種は倍数体で無融合生殖を行うが、本種は二倍体（染色体数2n＝16）で有性生殖を行い、原始的とみなされる。自家不和合性が強く、同株の花粉による結実はしない。

　人里の道端や土手などに生育し、東北地方南部から北九州に分布する。頭花の形態に地理的変異があり、それぞれの地域でカンサイタンポポ（近畿地方から北九州）、トウカイタンポポ（静岡県）、シナノタンポポ（甲信越地方）、カントウタンポポ（関東地方）などとよばれる。都市化の進行に伴い減少し、逆に帰化種のセイヨウタンポポdandelionが増加しつつあり、環境指標植物として注目されている。

　タンポポ属は北半球の温帯から寒帯にかけて約2000種あり、日本にはほかにエゾタンポポ、ミヤマタンポポ、シロバナタンポポなど約10種が自生する。シロバナタンポポは白色の頭花をつける点で特異な種で、人里に生え、関東地方以西の本州から沖縄、とくに中国、四国、九州地方に多い。五倍体（2n＝40）で無融合生殖を行い、全体にタンポポより大形になる。

［森田龍義］

文化史

タンポポは人里や野にありふれた草だが、『万葉集』や平安文学に記述はない。『本草和名(ほんぞうわみょう)』（918ころ）や『倭名類聚抄(わみょうるいじゅしょう)』（931～938ころ）には、タンポポの漢名の蒲公英に、タナ（多奈、太奈）とフチナ（布知奈）の和名をあてる。タナは田菜で、タンポポの名は、タナがタンに転じて、それに花後種子の冠毛（綿毛）がほほける意味のホホが加わり、生じたとする見方がある（『倭訓栞(わくんのしおり)』『大言海』）。これに対し、タナはハハコグサかタビラコとの説もある。タンポポの花茎を短く切り、両端を裂いて、水に浸(つ)けると、放射状に両端が反り返り、鼓(つづみ)の形に似る。柳田国男(やなぎたくにお)や中村浩(ひろし)は、そのツヅミグサから鼓を打つ音（タンポンポン）と結び付いて、タンポポの名が成立したと説いた。タンポポの名は江戸時代の文献からみえ、いけ花にも使われた。『抛入花伝書(なげいればなでんしょ)』（1684）には、根を焦がさぬもののなかに含め、花色に黄と白をあげる。また、江戸時代には種子を播(ま)き、葉をゆがいて、ひたし物や和(あ)え物、汁の実などにして食べた。セイヨウタンポポはフランスなどでは現在も野菜で、改良された品種がある。セイヨウタンポポは明治初期に札幌農学校のアメリカ人教師ブルックスが種子を導入し、それが北海道に広がった。さらに明治10年代には東京にもフランスから野菜として輸入された。中国では唐代にすでに催乳や健胃などの薬に使われている。タンポポの漢名の蒲公英は字音の似た僕公罌の転訛(てんか)とされ、罌(オウ)はケシで、発音が英の呉音のオウと同じく、傷つければ乳液が出ることもタンポポと共通する。ヨーロッパでは花や根を強肝、利尿、強壮などの薬用に、根を炒(い)って、粉にしたのをコーヒーの代用に使った。綿毛を、愛される・愛されないと、交互に吹いて、どちらが残るかで恋を占う遊びがヨーロッパにはある。中国では綿毛を詰めて枕(まくら)をつくった。

［湯浅浩史］

タンポポ属のおもな種類〔標本画〕
©大多和鐘三">

タンポポ属のおもな種類〔標本画〕

エゾタンポポ

カントウタンポポ

シロバナタンポポ

ミヤマタンポポ

タンポポの痩果

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