Urushi (lacquer) - Rhus verniciflua; sumac

Japanese: ウルシ(漆) - ウルシ（英語表記）Rhus verniciflua; sumac

A deciduous tree of the Anacardiaceae family. It is native to China and Central Asia, but has been cultivated in Japan for a long time. The trunk is gray-white, can grow up to 10m tall, and branches sparsely. The odd-pinnate compound leaves grow alternately at the ends of the branches. In June, panicles appear in the leaf axils, and many yellow-green florets appear. The plant is dioecious. The fruit is kidney-shaped, about 7mm in diameter, and when ripe, it turns yellowish brown and hangs down like a spike. It is widely cultivated in mountainous areas, especially in the Tohoku region, where the trunk is scratched to collect the lacquer juice, which is then used to apply to lacquerware. The lacquer juice contains urushiol, which can cause lacquer rash (dermatitis) in people who are sensitive to it. The fruit contains oils and fats, mainly palmitic acid, which are used to make Japan wax, and the same genus R. succedanea is also cultivated to obtain the wax. The wood has a white sapwood and reddish brown heartwood and is shiny, making it used for decorative crafts and also for making fishing net floats.

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

Japanese:

ウルシ科の落葉高木。中国，中央アジア原産であるが，古くから日本で栽培されている。幹は灰白色で，高さは 10mにもなりまばらに分枝する。奇数羽状複葉の葉が枝先に集って互生する。6月頃，葉腋に円錐花序を出し，多数の黄緑色の小花をつける。雌雄異株。果実は腎臓形で径 7mmぐらい，熟すると黄褐色で穂状に垂れ下がる。山地，特に東北地方に多く栽培され，幹にきずをつけて漆汁を集め漆器に塗る。漆汁にはウルシオールが含まれ，これに過敏な人は漆かぶれ (皮膚炎) を起す。果実からはパルミチン酸が主成分の油脂がとれ，木ろうの材料となり，同属のハゼノキ R. succedaneaもろうをとるために栽培される。材は辺材が白，心材が赤褐色でつやがあり装飾用の細工物などに用いられるほか，漁網の浮きなどにも使われる。

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