Wakame (wakame) - Undaria pinnatifida

Japanese: ワカメ(若布) - ワカメ（英語表記）Undaria pinnatifida

A brown algae belonging to the Laminariales order and the Laminariaceae family. It grows on rocks from the lowest part of the intertidal zone to the bathyal zone. The alga has pinnate lobes on both sides, and the lower part forms a slightly flattened stem with well-developed fibrous rhizoids. In mature algae, an ear appears between the leaf and stem, resembling a thick cloth folded over and over again, in which zoosporangia are produced. The zoospores germinate on the seabed substrate and become thread-like sexual generations, and ovipositors and antherids are produced in each male and female strain. When the fertilizer germinates and implants on the bedrock, it develops into a new individual. It is distributed in Hokkaido (west of Muroran and south of Rebun Island), the coast of Honshu, the Seto Inland Sea, the western and northern coasts of Kyushu, and the Korean Peninsula. It has been eaten since ancient times, and the Mekari Shrine ritual (Mekari Shinto Ritual) in Moji Ward, Kitakyushu City is said to have been handed down since the time of the Engishiki, which shows that Japanese people have had a deep interest in wakame since ancient times. In addition, there is a variety called Nambu wakame U. pinnatifida form. distans in the northern seas, which is said to differ from this species in that the ears grow away from the thallus and in the middle of the stem.

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

Japanese:

褐藻類コンブ目コンブ科の海藻。潮間帯の最下部から漸深帯にかけての岩上に着生する。藻体は左右に羽状の裂片をもち，下部はやや平らにつぶれた茎となり，繊維状の仮根が発達している。成熟した藻体には耳と称して，葉状部と茎部との間に厚い布を幾重にも折りたたんだような部分が生じ，この中に遊走子嚢ができる。遊走子は海底の基物上で発芽し糸状の有性世代となり，雌雄それぞれの株に生卵器および造精器がつくられる。受精器が発芽し岩盤に着床すれば新個体として発育する。北海道 (室蘭以西，礼文島以南) ，本州沿岸，瀬戸内海，九州西・北岸および朝鮮半島に分布している。古くから食用とされているが，北九州市門司区にある和布刈 (めかり) 神社の神事 (和布刈神事 ) は『延喜式』の時代から伝承されたものといわれ，日本人が古くからワカメに深い関心をもっていたことがわかる。なお，北方の海域ではナンブワカメ U. pinnatifida form. distansという品種があり，これは耳が葉状体と離れて茎の中ほどにできる点が本種とは異なるとされている。

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