Witch hazel - Witch hazel

Japanese: マンサク - まんさく

A deciduous tree of the Hamamelidaceae (APG classification: Hamamelidaceae). It can reach a height of 10 meters. The trunk is gray-brown. The leaves are diamond-shaped, obovate, and 5-10 cm long. Before the leaves unfold, one or two yellow flowers bloom on short branches emerging from the leaf axils in February and March. The fruit is a capsule. The name comes from the fact that the branches are covered with flowers in early spring, which represents a good harvest. It commonly grows in mountainous areas and is distributed on the Pacific side of Honshu from the southern Tohoku region westward, as well as Shikoku and Kyushu. The Maruba Witch Hazel variety has broad obovate leaves with rounded tips. It is distributed in southwestern Hokkaido and on the Sea of Japan side of Honshu from the Tohoku region westward. The bark of both species is tough and is used for shelves and baskets, as well as for bundling firewood.

The genus Hamamelid consists of six species, distributed disjunctly in East Asia and North America.

[Yuichi Kadota May 19, 2020]

Cultural history

The name Witch Hazel was first seen in the Shiki Shokashu (Collection of Flowers Admired in the Four Seasons) (1805), but the Aomomi (fir), which is said to be another name for Witch Hazel, was mentioned earlier in the Shuho Taizu Sahen (Left-Handed Illustrations of the Shuho Taizu) (1727). The Chinese characters for Nenrouka (Twisted Rose Flower) are used in the Chaseki Sokashu (Collection of Flower Arrangements for Tea Ceremonies). In the late Edo period, it was also used in ikebana. The Chinese name for Witch Hazel is Kinroubai (Golden Flower), but this actually refers to the closely related Chinese Witch Hazel, H. mollis Oliv. Regarding the origin of the word Witch Hazel, Iinuma Yokusai wrote in Kusaki Zusetsu (Illustrated Illustrations of Plants) (1856) that "it probably means to bloom first." Other theories include that it means "full harvest" or "blooming in full," and that it is the opposite of "poor harvest" (nakamura Hiroshi, "Origin of the Plant Name"), in reference to the fact that the fruit is shaped like a hawthorn. Other plants called witch hazel include ambrosia amplexicaule in Hokkaido and Tohoku, and anemone quinquefoil in southern Tohoku. As these are all the first flowers to bloom outdoors in early spring, the most likely theory is that witch hazel's name comes from the fact that it "blooms first."

[Hiroshi Yuasa May 19, 2020]

[References] | Iinuma Yokusai | Anemone nigra | Adonis

Witch hazel
In February and March, before the leaves unfold, one or two yellow flowers bloom on the short branches emerging from the leaf axils. The four petals are linear and wrinkled and twisted. ©Seishohmaru ">

Witch hazel

Chinese witch hazel
A close relative of witch hazel. The petals are golden yellow with red or reddish brown bases. It is characterized by the fact that dead leaves remain when the flower blooms. ©Seishohmaru ">

Chinese witch hazel

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

マンサク科（APG分類：マンサク科）の落葉小高木。高さ10メートルに達する。幹は灰褐色。葉は菱(ひし)状倒卵形で、長さ5～10センチメートル。葉の展開に先だち、2～3月、葉腋(ようえき)から出た短枝に1～2個の黄色花を開く。果実は蒴果(さくか)。名は、早春に花が枝いっぱいにつく状態を豊作に例えたもの。山地に普通に生え、東北地方南部以西の本州の太平洋側、および四国、九州に分布する。変種のマルバマンサクは、葉は広倒卵形で先端が丸い。北海道南西部、東北地方以西の本州の日本海側に分布する。ともに樹皮は強靭(きょうじん)で、棚や籠(かご)材にするほか、薪(まき)の結束に用いられる。

　マンサク属は6種からなり、東アジアと北アメリカに隔離分布する。

［門田裕一　2020年5月19日］

文化史

マンサクの名は『四季賞花集(しきしょうかしゅう)』（1805）に初見するが、マンサクの異名とされるアオモミは、それより先『聚芳帯図左編(しゅうほうたいずさへん)』（1727）に記載されている。『茶席挿花集(ちゃせきそうかしゅう)』には捻臘花(ねんろうか)の漢字があてられている。江戸後期にはいけ花にも使われた。マンサクの中国名は金縷梅(きんろうばい)であるが、これは正確には中国産で近縁のシナマンサクH. mollis Oliv.をさす。マンサクの語源について、飯沼慾斎(いいぬまよくさい)は『草木図説』（1856）で、「まづ咲くの意ならん」と記している。ほかにも「満作」「満咲く」、果実がしいな状であることを嫌ってしいな（不作）に対する反対語である（中村浩『植物名の由来』）などの諸説がある。マンサクとよばれる植物は、ほかに北海道や東北のフクジュソウ、東北南部のキクザキイチゲがある。それらはいずれも早春野外で真っ先に咲く草花であることからすると、マンサクの名の由来は「まず咲く」説が有力である。

［湯浅浩史　2020年5月19日］

[参照項目] | 飯沼慾斎 | キクザキイチゲ | フクジュソウ

マンサク

シナマンサク

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