Brown-eared bulbul - Brown-eared bulbul

A perennial plant of the Asteraceae family. The underground stem is short and thick, somewhat clump-like and somewhat woody, and one or several stems grow in clusters. The leaves are opposite, oblong-ovate-elliptical or oblong-lanceolate, 6-18 cm long and 3-8 cm wide, with glandular dots all over the underside. From August to October, it produces numerous flower heads in a panicle. The flower heads are made up of several tubular flowers, and are white, sometimes tinged with pale purple. The achene is pentagonal and has a white pappus. It grows in the relatively bright sparse forests and forest edges of mountainous areas, and in grasslands such as reforested areas, and is distributed in Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and China north of the Yangtze River. Its name comes from the fact that the flowers bloom around the time when brown-eared bulbuls start singing. There are also hybrids with the closely related Brown-eared Bulbul, and the species has many variations, making it difficult to identify.

[Hiroyuki Koyama]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

キク科の多年草。地下茎は短くて太く、やや塊状に肥厚して多少木質化し、茎を1本から数本叢生(そうせい)する。葉は対生し、長卵状楕円(だえん)形または長楕円状披針(ひしん)形で長さ6～18センチメートル、幅3～8センチメートル、裏面全体に腺点(せんてん)がある。8～10月、多数の頭花を散房状につける。頭花は数個の管状花からなり、白色でときに淡紫色を帯びる。痩果(そうか)は五稜(りょう)形、白色の冠毛がある。山地の比較的明るい疎林の中や林縁、造林地などの草地に多く生え、日本、および朝鮮半島、揚子江(ようすこう)以北の中国に分布する。名は、ヒヨドリの鳴くころに花が咲くことによる。近縁のサワヒヨドリとの雑種もあり、変異が多く、同定のむずかしい種である。

［小山博滋］

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