Oak - Quercus spp.

Japanese: ナラ(楢) - ナラ（英語表記）Quercus spp.

A general term for deciduous species of tall trees of the Quercus genus, Fagaceae, distributed in temperate and tropical highlands of the Northern Hemisphere, including Konara (Oak), Mizunara (Mizunara), and Naragashiwa, which are found in Japan. Even within the same genus, evergreen species with hard leaves are usually called oaks to distinguish them. However, the taxonomic difference between oaks and oaks is the arrangement of the scales of the cupule at the base of the nut, or acorn. While oaks have several layers of horizontal rings, oaks have scales that are not fused together and are arranged like tiles. In that sense, Quercus phillyraeoides , which grows on the coast of western Japan, is included in the oak family, even though it is evergreen. When simply referring to oak, it is often referring to Konara, but Mizunara is valued as timber. The leaves of this family are alternate and have sawtooth edges. They are monoecious. In April and May, string-like male inflorescences appear under the new leaves, and short, upright female inflorescences appear at the base of the upper leaves. The nuts, called acorns, are elliptical or spherical, and the cup-shaped inflorescence that surrounds the base is made up of many overlapping scales. Oak wood is heavy, hard, and dense, and is used for furniture, ships, construction, and other purposes, as well as for barrels for Western liquor, logs for shiitake mushrooms, and firewood. The bark and leaves are also used for dyeing.

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

Japanese:

北半球の温帯から熱帯の高地に分布するブナ科カシ属 Quercusの高木のうち，コナラ (小楢)，ミズナラ (水楢)，ナラガシワなど日本に産する落葉性の種類の総称。同属の植物でも葉質の硬い，常緑性の種類は通常カシと呼んで区別する。しかし分類学上のナラとカシの差は堅果，いわゆる「どんぐり」の基部につく殻斗 (かくと) の包鱗のあり方で，カシ類が数層の横輪状になるのに対し，ナラ類は包鱗が癒着せず，敷瓦状に並ぶ点が異なる。その意味では西日本の海岸に生じるウバメガシ Q. phillyraeoidesは常緑ではあるがナラ類に入れられる。普通単にナラと呼ぶときはコナラをさすことが多いが，用材としてはミズナラが重視される。この仲間の葉は互生し縁に鋸歯がある。雌雄同株。4～5月頃，新葉下部に紐状の雄花穂，上部の葉のつけ根に短い直立した雌花穂をつける。どんぐりと呼ばれる堅果は楕円または球形で，基部を包む椀形の総包は多くの鱗片が重なる。ナラ材は重硬，緻密で，家具，船舶，建築などのほか洋酒の樽材，シイタケの原木，薪炭材となる。また，樹皮や葉を染色に用いることもある。

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