Atractylodes japonica

Japanese: オケラ（英語表記）Atractylodes japonica

A perennial herb of the Asteraceae family, distributed in the temperate zone of East Asia. In Japan, it is commonly found in mountainous areas and grasslands in all areas except Hokkaido. It has a rhizome with nodes underground, and the stem is round and hard, 30-80 cm tall. The leaves are stalked and alternate, elliptical, about 10 cm long, but usually pinnately divided into 3-5 lobes. The sawtooth edges of the leaves protrude like awns. The leaves are thin but hard, and the awns are painful. In autumn, a flower head about 2 cm in diameter is produced at the top of the stem, and a distinctive involucre surrounds this flower head. The involucre is a mesh of finely branched veins that branch out like a tree, and the ends of the veins all end in thorns. The flower head is made up of a cluster of small pale pink tubular flowers. The dried rhizome is used as a herbal medicine, and because it has a unique fragrance and bitterness, it is used as an ingredient in New Year's toso (toso-san). The young shoots are also edible.

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

Japanese:

キク科の多年草で，東アジアの温帯に分布する。日本では北海道を除く各地の山地や草原に普通に生える。地下に節のある根茎をもち，茎の高さは 30～80cmで丸く硬い。葉には柄があって互生し，長さ 10cmほどの楕円形であるが，通常は羽状に3～5片に裂けている。葉縁の鋸歯は芒 (のぎ) 状に突出する。葉の質は薄いが硬く，この芒が痛い。秋に，茎頂に径 2cmほどの頭状花をつけるが，この頭花を囲んで特徴ある総包がある。総包は樹枝状に細かく枝分れした葉脈だけが網の目のようになり，支脈の先端はいずれもとげに終る。頭花は淡紅色の小さな管状花が集ってできている。根茎を乾燥したものを生薬に用い，また独特の香りと苦みをもつので正月のとそ (屠蘇散) の原料となる。若芽は食用にもする。

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