Aconitum chinense; Chinese aconite

Japanese: トリカブト(鳥兜) - トリカブト（英語表記）Aconitum chinense; Chinese aconite

A perennial plant of the Ranunculaceae family. Native to China, it is also called Hana Aconite and cultivated throughout Japan for decorative purposes. The tuberous root is obovate and grows straight underground, while the stem is cylindrical and erect, reaching a height of about 1m. The thick, glossy leaves grow alternately, deeply lobed in a palmate shape, and the lobes have coarse sawtooth. In August and September, numerous purple flowers appear in racemes at the top of the stem or in the upper leaf axils. The flower stalk is hairy and spreads out. There are five sepals that form a petal, and two petals that are enclosed in the sepals and form a nectary. There are many stamens and three to five pistils, and the capsule forms after flowering. The seeds are oval and have many folds. This type of plant is generally poisonous, especially the roots. The tuberous root is called Uzu or Bushi, and it is well known that the Ainu used it as a poison arrow when hunting bears in the past. Many closely related species, such as Yamatonikabuto (mountain bird helmet), grow wild in Japan.

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

Japanese:

キンポウゲ科の多年草。中国原産でハナトリカブトとも呼ばれ，観賞用に日本各地で栽培されている。塊根は倒卵形で地中にまっすぐに伸び，茎は円柱形で直立し 1mほどになる。厚く光沢のある葉が互生し，掌状に深裂し裂片にはあらい鋸歯がある。8～9月に，茎の上部や上方の葉腋に総状花序をなして多数の紫色花をつける。花柄には開出した毛が多い。萼片は5枚で花弁状をなし，花弁は2枚で萼片の中に閉ざされ蜜腺状になる。おしべ多数，めしべ3～5本で花後に袋果となる。種子は楕円形で多数のひだがある。この類の植物は一般に有毒植物で特に根に猛毒がある。塊根は烏頭 (うず) または附子 (ぶし) と呼ばれ，昔アイヌが熊狩の際に毒矢として用いたのは有名である。日本にはヤマトリカブト (山鳥兜)などの近縁種が多数自生している。

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