Urajiro (Ura-jiro) - Gleichenia japonica

Japanese: ウラジロ(裏白) - ウラジロ（英語表記）Gleichenia japonica

An evergreen fern of the Urajidae family. It is widely distributed from the southern Tohoku region to Southeast Asia. It grows in colonies on sunny, dry slopes in warm regions. It has a long rhizome that branches sparsely and bears leaves. The petiole is thick and hard. The leaf blade is divided into a pair of pinnae at the top of the petiole. At the branching point, there is a bud covered with scales, which develops and produces a pair of pinnae each year. A well-developed leaf in a warm region consists of 4 to 5 pinnae and can reach a height of more than 2 m. The pinnae are lanceolate, 50 to 100 cm long, 20 to 30 cm wide, glossy green on the top and white on the underside. The pinnae are further deeply lobed twice in a pinnate shape. The leaves are used as New Year decorations, and the petioles are used to craft chopsticks, trays, baskets, etc. The Japanese name Urajiro comes from the fact that the undersides of the leaves are white.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

ウラジロ科の常緑性シダ植物。東北地方南部から東南アジアにかけて広く分布する。暖地の日当りのよい乾いた斜面などに群落をつくる。根茎は長く，まばらに分枝し，葉をつける。葉柄は太くて硬い。葉身は葉柄の上端で左右1対の羽片に分れる。分岐点には鱗片におおわれた芽があり，毎年発達して1対ずつ羽片をつくる。暖地でよく発達した葉は4～5枚の羽片から成り，高さ 2m以上に及ぶ。羽片は披針形で，長さ 50～100cm，幅 20～30cm，上面はつやのある緑色で，裏面は白色。羽片はさらに2回羽状に深く裂ける。葉を新年の飾りに使い，また葉柄は箸，盆，籠などの細工に用いる。和名ウラジロは葉の裏面が白いことによる。

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