Logwood (English spelling) Heamatoxylon campechianum; logwood

Japanese: ロッグウッド（英語表記）Heamatoxylon campechianum; logwood

A shrub of the legume family. Native to the West Indies and Central America, it is especially common in Mexico. The trunk is 7-10m tall, and the leaves are pinnately compound, growing in clusters of several, with small thorns in the axils. There are 4-5 pairs of leaflets, obovate, and about 1cm long. The flowers are pale yellow, grow in axillary racemes, and emit a fragrance. The five petals are obovate and almost the same size, and do not form a butterfly-shaped flower. The pods are flat, membranous, about 5cm long, and contain 2-3 oblong seeds inside. The sapwood is white, and the heartwood is reddish brown or purple-brown, and the pigment in this heartwood is used as a dye. It is said that it was first used as a dye by the Spanish in the 16th century. The red pigment is hematoxylin, which dyes wool, silk, cotton, and linen black-brown, and can also be dyed purple or reddish brown with a mordant. Although it has been replaced today by synthetic dyes, it remains one of the most important pigments for microscopic observation in cytology and histology. The wood is used for crafts, ornaments, etc.

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

Japanese:

マメ科の低木。西インド諸島，中央アメリカの原産で，特にメキシコに多く分布する。幹は高さ7～10m，葉は羽状複葉で数枚ずつ集ってつき，葉腋に小さなとげがある。小葉は4～5対で，倒卵形，長さ約 1cmである。花は淡黄色，腋生の総状花序につき，芳香を発する。花弁は倒卵形で5枚あり，ほぼ同大で蝶形花にはならない。莢は扁平，膜質で長さ 5cm内外，中に横長の種子2～3個がつく。辺材は白色，心材は紅褐色または紫褐色であり，この心材の色素を染料として利用する。 16世紀にスペイン人によって最初に染料に使われたといい，その紅色素はヘマトキシリンで，羊毛，絹，木綿，麻を黒褐色に染め，媒染剤を用いて紫色，赤褐色にも染められる。今日では合成染料に取って代られたが，細胞学，組織学での顕微鏡観察用色素としては今日でも最も重要なものの一つである。材は細工物，装飾具などに用いられる。

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