Wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox (L.)) Link

Japanese: ロウバイ(蠟梅) - ロウバイ（英語表記）Chimonanthus praecox (L.) Link

A flowering tree of the family Chicorysae that produces pretty yellow flowers that resemble beeswax around the time the plum blossoms bloom. It is a deciduous shrub, 2-4m tall. The leaves are entire and opposite one another. It blooms in early spring, before the other flowers unfold. There are numerous tepals, which are indistinguishable from the sepals to the petals. The inner tepals are dark purple, the middle ones are yellow, and the outer ones are scaly. A variety with yellow inner parts, called soshinrobai (Soshinrobai) (illustration), is also cultivated. Native to China, it was introduced to Japan in the early Edo period, and was exported from Japan or China to England in the mid-18th century, where it became known as winter sweet.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

ウメの咲くころ，蜜蠟に似た黄色のかわいい花をつけるロウバイ科の花木。落葉低木で，高さ2～4m。葉は全縁で対生する。早春，葉の展開前に他の花に先立って咲く。花被片は多数で，萼片から花弁へと連続して区別できない。内花被片は暗紫色，中片は黄色で外片は鱗片状。ソシンロウバイ(素心蠟梅)（イラスト）といって，内片も黄色い品種も栽植されている。中国原産で，日本には江戸時代初期に入り，18世紀の半ばころに日本あるいは中国からイギリスへ輸出され，winter sweetと呼ばれるようになったという。

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

<<: Raba porridge - Raba porridge

>>: Old farmer synonyms - Old farmer