Mitsugashiwa - buckbean

Japanese: ミツガシワ - みつがしわ(英語表記)buckbean
Mitsugashiwa - buckbean

A perennial aquatic plant of the Menyanthaceae family (APG classification: Menyanthaceae). One genus and one species. The underground stem is thick and creeps horizontally. The leaves are fleshy, basal, and have three leaflets. From April to August, the plant produces white flowers in clusters on flower stalks that are 20 to 40 cm tall. The corolla is deeply divided into five lobes and has hairs on the inside. The capsule is spherical. The seeds are round, slightly flattened, shiny, and float on water. Many fossil seeds have been found in Japan from strata dating to the Pliocene Epoch of the Neogene and the Holocene Epoch (Alluvial Epoch). It grows in the water in mountainous to subalpine areas, and is widely distributed from Hokkaido to Kyushu, as well as in the circumpolar region of the Northern Hemisphere. The name means "three-leaf oak," as the leaves resemble those of an oak.

In China, the dried leaves are called suisai or meisai and are used as a sleeping pill. They contain the bitter glycoside meliatine and have been used since ancient times as a stomachic, antipyretic, and anthelmintic medicine.

[Hideo Takahashi November 17, 2021]

Menyanthes trifoliata
The leaves are succulent and consist of three leaflets. From April to August, white flowers bloom in clusters. The corolla is deeply divided into five lobes. It grows in the water in mountainous to subalpine areas. ©Shogakukan Photo by Masatoshi Hirose ">

Menyanthes trifoliata


Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

ミツガシワ科(APG分類:ミツガシワ科)の多年生水草。1属1種。地下茎は太く、横にはう。葉は3小葉からなり、多肉質で根生し、長い柄がある。4~8月、高さ20~40センチメートルの花茎に白色花を総状につける。花冠は深く5裂し、内面に毛がある。蒴果(さくか)は球形。種子は丸く、やや扁平(へんぺい)で光沢があり、水に浮かぶ。種子の化石は、日本では新第三紀鮮新世や第四紀完新世(沖積世)の地層から多く発見されている。山地から亜高山の水中に生え、北海道から九州、および北半球の周北極地方に広く分布する。名は、葉をカシワの葉に見立て、三葉のカシワの意味である。

 中国では葉を乾燥したものを睡菜(すいさい)または瞑菜(めいさい)と称し、睡眠薬とした。苦味配糖体メリアチンを含み、古来から健胃、解熱、駆虫などの薬に用いてきた。

[高橋秀男 2021年11月17日]

ミツガシワ
葉は3小葉からなり、多肉質。4~8月、白色花を総状につける。花冠は深く5裂する。山地から亜高山の水中に生える©Shogakukan 撮影/広瀬雅敏">

ミツガシワ


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