Mehajiki - Mehajiki

A biennial plant of the Lamiaceae family (APG classification: Lamiaceae). The stem is square, erect, branched, and 0.5 to 1.5 meters tall. The basal leaves in winter are egg-cordate with shallow incisions and long petioles, but the stem leaves are divided into three lobes, and the lobes are further divided into pinnate lobes. From July to September, reddish purple, 6 to 7 mm long, labiate flowers bloom in the leaf axils. The calyx is divided into five lobes, and the lobes are needle-shaped at the tip. It grows on roadsides and is widely distributed in Japan and central and southern Asia. The name comes from the fact that children used to play by cutting the stems short and sticking them to their eyelids. The whole plant was also dried and used as a decoction for bruises, stomach pain, menstrual irregularities, and postpartum bleeding, so it is also called yakumosou (beneficial mother plant). This extract is called yakumoko and has sometimes been sold commercially.

[Gen Murata September 17, 2021]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

シソ科（APG分類：シソ科）の越年草。茎は四角形で直立して分枝し、高さ0.5～1.5メートル。冬にある根出葉は卵心形で浅い切れ込みがあり、長い葉柄があるが、茎葉は3裂して、裂片はさらに羽状に分裂する。7～9月、葉腋(ようえき)に紅紫色で長さ6～7ミリメートルの唇形花を開く。萼(がく)は5裂し、裂片は先が針状にとがる。道端に生え、日本、およびアジア中南部に広く分布する。名は、子供たちが茎を短く切ってまぶたにくっつけて遊んだことにちなむ。また、全草を乾かし、打撲症や腹痛、月経不順、産後の出血などに煎(せん)じて用いられたことから、ヤクモソウ（益母草）の名もある。なお、このエキスは益母膏(やくもこう)と称し、市販されたこともある。

［村田　源　2021年9月17日］

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