Mamacona - Mamacona

A semi-parasitic annual plant of the Scrophulariaceae family (APG classification: Orobanchaceae). The stem is sparsely branched and 20-50 cm tall. The leaves are opposite, long ovate, pointed at the tip, and not sawtoothed. From summer to early autumn, racemes are produced at the ends of the branches, and many red-purple flowers bloom. The corolla is lip-shaped, the upper lip is helmet-shaped, and the lower lip has a white spot at the base. It grows on the forest edges of mountainous areas, and is distributed from southern Hokkaido to Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula. Its name is said to come from the fact that the white spot on the lower lip resembles a grain of rice, or that the young seeds resemble grains of rice. The basic species, Tsushima mamacona, has a long inflorescence, the flowers bloom somewhat sparsely, and the rachis has few hairs. It is distributed in Honshu west of the Chubu region, Kyushu, the Korean Peninsula, and China.

The closely related Miyama mamakona (Miyama ikkona) M. laxum Miq. var. nikkoense Beauv. resembles mamakona, but the tips of the bracts are slightly rounded and the corolla has a yellow spot at the base of the lower lip. It grows under sparse forests in deep mountains and is distributed in southwestern Hokkaido and Honshu from the Chubu region northward. The basic species Shikoku mamakona has scattered stinging teeth on the bracts and is distributed in Honshu from the Tokai region southward, Shikoku, and Kyushu.

[Yamazaki Takashi September 17, 2021]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ゴマノハグサ科（APG分類：ハマウツボ科）の半寄生の一年草。茎はまばらに分枝し、高さ20～50センチメートル。葉は対生し、長卵形で先端はとがり、鋸歯(きょし)はない。夏から初秋、枝先に総状花序をつくり、多くの紅紫色花を開く。花冠は唇形、上唇は冑(かぶと)形、下唇(かしん)は基部に白斑(はくはん)がある。山地の林縁に生え、北海道南部から九州、および朝鮮半島に分布する。名は、下唇の白斑を米粒に見立てたとも、若い種子が米粒に似るからともいう。基本種のツシマママコナは花序は長くて花をややまばらに開き、花軸に毛が少ない。中部地方以西の本州、九州、および朝鮮半島、中国に分布する。

　近縁のミヤマママコナ（深山飯子菜）M. laxum Miq. var. nikkoense Beauv.はママコナに似るが、包葉の先端はやや丸みを帯び、花冠は下唇の基部に黄色の斑点(はんてん)がある。深山の疎林下に生え、北海道西南部、中部地方以北の本州に分布する。基本種シコクママコナは包葉に刺毛(しもう)状の歯牙(しが)を散生し、東海地方以南の本州、四国、九州に分布する。

［山崎　敬　2021年9月17日］

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