Single-leaf clover - Single-leaf clover

A deciduous shrub in the Euphorbiaceae family (APG classification: Phyllanthaceae). It grows to about 2 meters in height. The twigs grow long and often droop at the tips. The leaves are alternate, oblong or ovate-elliptical, 4-5 cm long, entire, and bluntly pointed at the tips. Dioecious. In summer, both male and female flowers grow in clusters in the leaf axils. The perianth has five petals, no distinction between sepals and petals, and is small and pale yellow in color. Male flowers have five stamens. Female flowers have one pistil, a three-lobed ovary, and a three-lobed style. The capsule ripens and splits into three shell segments, dispersing seeds. There are two seeds in each lobe. It grows in lowland fields and is distributed from the Kanto region west of Honshu to Kyushu, Amami Oshima, the Korean Peninsula, and China. Its name comes from its resemblance to a bush clover and its simple leaves.

[Kyoshio Furusawa June 23, 2020]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

トウダイグサ科（APG分類：コミカンソウ科）の落葉低木。高さ約2メートル。小枝は長く伸び、しばしば先端は垂れ下がる。葉は互生し、長楕円(ちょうだえん)形または卵状楕円形で長さ4～5センチメートル、全縁で先は鈍くとがる。雌雄異株。夏、雌・雄花ともに葉腋(ようえき)に叢生(そうせい)する。花被(かひ)は萼片(がくへん)、花弁の区別がなく5枚、小形で淡黄色。雄花は雄しべが5本。雌花は雌しべが1本、子房は3室、花柱は3裂する。蒴果(さくか)は熟して3殻片に裂開し、種子を散布する。種子は各室に2個。低地の原野に生え、関東地方以西の本州から九州、奄美(あまみ)大島、および朝鮮半島、中国に分布する。名は全体がハギに似ており、単葉であることによる。

［古澤潔夫　2020年6月23日］

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