Messerschmidia argentea (Lf) Johnston

Japanese: モンパノキ（英語表記）Messerschmidia argentea (L.f.) Johnston

A small shrub (illustration) of the Violaceae family, commonly found on the coasts of the Ryukyu Islands. Its northern limit is Tanegashima, but it is widely distributed on the coasts of tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. It grows to a height of 1-3m, with thick branches but soft wood that breaks easily. Young branches, leaves, and inflorescences are densely covered with velvety silver-gray hairs. The leaves are obovate-lanceolate, 10-15cm long, thick and somewhat fleshy. In the Ryukyu Islands, the flowers bloom around August, densely arranged in corymbs of snail-shaped inflorescences.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

琉球諸島の海岸に普通に生えるムラサキ科スナビキソウ属の小低木(イラスト)。北限は種子島であるが，アジア，アフリカ，オーストラリア，太平洋諸島の熱帯･亜熱帯域の海岸に広く分布する。樹高は1～3m，枝は太いが材が軟らかく折れやすい。若枝，葉，花序には銀灰色の毛がビロード状に密生する。葉は倒卵状披針形で長さ10～15cm，厚くやや肉質。花は南西諸島では8月ころ咲き，カタツムリ状の小花序が集まった散房状花序に密につく。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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