Shepherd's purse - Shepherd's purse

Japanese: ナズナ - なずな

A biennial plant of the Brassicaceae family (APG classification: Brassicaceae). The stem is 10-40 cm tall and branches downward. The leaves at the base are rosette-shaped, deeply pinnately lobed, and stalk-shaped. The stem leaves are lanceolate, sawtoothed, sessile, and arrowhead-shaped at the base, embracing the stem. Both the stem and leaves have a mixture of simple and stellate hairs. From March to May, racemes are produced, and many small white flowers bloom. The petals are obovate and have claws. The fruit is flattened, inverted triangular, 6-7 mm long, glabrous, and has a slender stalk. The shape of the fruit resembles a shamisen plectrum, and when the fruit is peeled off the stem a little and turned around, it makes a "penpen" sound, which is likened to the sound of playing the shamisen, and it is also called penpengusa. It is a weed commonly found in fields and roadsides, and is counted as one of the seven herbs of spring. The young leaves are used in porridge and other dishes. The whole plant is used to stop bleeding and diarrhea. There are five species of Shepherd's Purse in the world and one species in Japan, and it is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere.

[Junko Kobayashi November 13, 2020]

Cultural history

In Japan, it is a weed, but in China, it is a vegetable, called chi-cai, and there are varieties such as the thick-leaved, shallow-serrated plank-leafed shepherd's purse (ta-ye shepherd's purse) and the thin-leaved, scattered-leafed shepherd's purse (pai-jiao shepherd's purse, huo-ye shepherd's purse), which are shipped year-round in Shanghai. Its use in China dates back to the 6th century, when it was mentioned in the "Qi Min Yaojutsu" as being used as a filling for hot dishes. In Japan, it was first mentioned in the "Shinsen Jikyo" (around 901) in the early Heian period under the names of shepherd's purse and sweet shepherd's purse, and in the "Engishiki" (927) it was mentioned as a vegetable. The original form of the seven spring herbs "Japanese parsley, shepherd's purse, angelica tree, chickweed, henbit, turnip, and daisy flower - these are the seven herbs" can be found in the "Annual Events Secrets" (possibly compiled during the Einin era, 1293-1299), which begins with chickweed, followed by chickweed, shepherd's purse, suzuna, ogyo, suzushiro, and hotokenoza. During the Edo period, shepherd's purse was hung on a lantern on the 8th day of the 4th lunar month as a charm to ward off insects.

There are several theories about the origin of the word shepherd's purse, including that it comes from natsuna, which means "no summer" ("Shakumyo"), or from nadena, the beloved vegetable ("Wakun no Shiori"). There is also a view that in ancient Korean, shepherd's purse was naji, and that this was combined with the Japanese word na to form najina ("Shinpei Ogura's Study of Korean Dialects").

[Hiroshi Yuasa November 13, 2020]

[Reference] | Seven Herbs | Seven Herbs of Spring

Shepherd's purse
The leaves at the base of the plant are rosette-shaped and deeply pinnately lobed, and the stem leaves are lanceolate and serrated. It is one of the seven herbs of spring. Also known as Penpengusa ©Seishohmaru ">

Shepherd's purse

Shepherd's purse flower
From March to May, it produces racemes and many small white cruciferous flowers. The fruits are flattened inverted triangles, and when you peel them off the stem and turn them around, they make a "pen-pen" sound. ©Seishohmaru ">

Shepherd's purse flower

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

アブラナ科（APG分類：アブラナ科）の越年草。茎は高さ10～40センチメートル、下方で分枝する。根際の葉はロゼット状で羽状に深く裂け、有柄。茎葉は披針(ひしん)形で鋸歯(きょし)があり無柄、基部は矢じり形で茎を抱く。茎、葉ともに単毛と星状毛を混生する。3～5月、総状花序をつくり、白色の小花を多数開く。花弁は倒卵形でつめがある。果実は扁平(へんぺい)な倒三角形で長さ6～7ミリメートル、無毛で果柄は細長い。果実の形が三味線の撥(ばち)に似ており、果実を茎から少しはがしてくるくる回すと、「ペンペン」と音がするので、これを三味線をひく音に例えてペンペングサともいう。田畑、道端などに普通にみられる雑草であり、春の七草の一つに数えられ、若葉は七草粥(がゆ)などの食用とする。全草を止血、止瀉(ししゃ)などに用いる。ナズナ属は世界に5種、日本に1種あり、北半球に広く分布する。

［小林純子　2020年11月13日］

文化史

日本では雑草だが、中国では野菜の一つで、萕菜(チーツァイ)とよばれ、葉が厚く鋸歯の浅い板葉(パンイエ)萕菜（大葉(ターイエ)萕菜）や葉の細い散葉(サンイエ)萕菜（百脚(パイチヤオ)萕菜、花葉(ホワイエ)萕菜）などの品種があり、上海(シャンハイ)あたりでは周年出荷されている。中国の利用の歴史は古く、6世紀の『斉民要術(せいみんようじゅつ)』に、あつものの実に使うと載る。日本では平安時代初期の『新撰字鏡(しんせんじきょう)』（901ころ）に薺(なずな)、甘奈豆奈(あまなずな)の名で初見し、『延喜式(えんぎしき)』（927）には雑菜としてあがる。春の七草「セリ、ナズナ、オギョウ、ハコベラ、ホトケノザ、スズナ、スズシロこれぞ七草」の原形は、『年中行事秘抄』（永仁(えいにん)年間1293～1299に成立か）で、薺で始まり、蘩(はこべら)、芹(せり)、菁(すずな)、御形(おぎょう)、須々代(すずしろ)、佛座(ほとけのざ)と続く。江戸時代は陰暦4月8日にナズナを行灯(あんどん)につるして、虫除(むしよ)けのまじないにした。

　ナズナの語源は、夏にない夏無(なつな)から由来（『日本釈名(しゃくみょう)』）、愛する菜の撫菜(なでな)（『和訓栞(わくんのしおり)』）などの説がある。また、朝鮮古語では萕はナジnaziで、これに日本語の菜(な)がついたナジナが語源とする見解もある（小倉進平(おぐらしんぺい)『朝鮮語方言の研究』）。

［湯浅浩史　2020年11月13日］

[参照項目] | 七草 | 春の七草

ナズナ

ナズナの花

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

<<: Nasuno - Eggplant

>>: Nasution - Abdul Haris Nasution