Inugaya - Inugaya

It is an evergreen shrub or tree of the family Carpinaceae, and the larger ones can reach a height of 15 meters and a diameter of 30 centimeters. The bark is dark brown and has shallow vertical peeling. The leaves are alternate, linear, 2-5 cm long, 2.5-4.0 mm wide, and sharply pointed at the tip. On lateral branches, they are arranged in two rows on the left and right of the branch, and on upright branches, they are arranged in a spiral shape. The leaves are soft and do not hurt when touched. Dioecious. It blooms in March and April. The male flowers are yellow and clustered in a globular shape at the base of the leaves of the previous year's branches. The female flowers are green and have one or two at the end of the twigs, with a stalk with many scales. The cones are ovoid or obovate, 2.0-2.5 cm long, with fleshy outer seed coats, and mature to reddish brown in the autumn of the following year. It is a shade tree that grows on the valley side under forests. The timber is used for buildings, tools, civil engineering, and pottery, and the trees are used as garden trees. It is found west of Iwate Prefecture in Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. A variant is Haiinugaya, which grows in clusters as a shrub and, compared to the basic species, the female inflorescence has a long stalk with almost no scales. It is found from Hokkaido to Honshu and Shikoku. The horticultural species with upright branches, whorls of leaves, and alternating groups of long and short leaves with some space between them is called Chosenmaki, and is used as a garden tree or cutting.

[Yayoi Hayashi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

イヌガヤ科の常緑低木または高木で、大きいものは高さ15メートル、直径30センチメートルとなる。樹皮は暗褐色で浅く縦にはげる。葉は互生し、線形で長さ2～5センチメートル、幅2.5～4.0ミリメートルあり、先は急にとがり、側枝では枝の左右に2列に並び、直立する枝では螺旋(らせん)状につく。葉質は柔らかく、触っても痛くない。雌雄異株。3～4月に開花する。雄花は球状に集まって前年枝の葉の付け根につき黄色。雌花は小枝の先に1、2個つき緑色で、多数の鱗片(りんぺん)をもつ柄がある。球果は卵形または倒卵形で長さ2.0～2.5センチメートルあり、外種皮は肉質で、翌年の秋に赤褐色に成熟する。陰樹で森林下の谷側などに生える。材は建築、器具、土木、ろくろ細工などにされ、木は庭木とする。本州の岩手県以西、四国、九州に分布する。変種にハイイヌガヤがあり、低木性で群生し、基本種に比べ雌花序はほとんど鱗片をもたない長い柄がある。北海道から本州、四国にかけて分布する。枝が直立し、葉は輪生し、長い葉の群と短い葉の群があってそれが少し間隔を置いて交互に並ぶ園芸種をチョウセンマキと称し、庭木や切り枝用とする。

［林　弥栄］

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