イヌタデの別名「赤まんま」の由来は、子どもたちが花や実を赤飯に見立てて遊ぶから。昔から「ままごとの花」として親しまれてきました。
Creeping Smartweed’s Japanese name, “Aka manma”, comes from the fact that children play with flowers and berries like red rice. Since ancient times, it has been popular as a “playing flower”in Japan.
【仮名】イヌタデ, アカマンマ
【和名】犬蓼, 赤まんま
【英名】Creeping Smartweed
【学名】Persicaria longiseta
【誕生】09/ 25, 11/ 04, 11/ 24
【開花】06, 07, 08, 09, 10月
【花色】White, Pink, Red
イヌタデ
イヌタデの来歴
イヌタデはタデ科の１年草。原産地はアジア南東部で、日本へは稲作とともに渡来しました。北海道から本州、四国、九州、沖縄まで、日当たりの良い野原、道端、田畑の畦畔などで自生。昔から「ままごとの花」として親しまれてきました。花言葉は「あなたのために役立ちたい」。
イヌタデの名前
イヌタデは「食べられない蓼」という意味。葉には食用種「柳蓼」のような辛みがありません。別名「赤まんま」の由来は子どもたちが花や実を赤飯に見立てて遊ぶから。ラテン語の属名ペルシカリアは「桃」で葉の形に、種名ロンギセタは「長い刺毛」で托葉鞘の縁毛に由来します。
イヌタデの姿形
イヌタデは茎が枝分かれしながら地を這い、立ち上がります。葉は細長い楕円形で互生。花は茎先で穂のように小さな粒々が密生します。雄しべは８本、雌しべは花柱が３裂、花弁のように見えるのは萼で、深く５裂。花後は三角形の痩果を結び、熟すと光沢のある黒褐色になります。
イヌタデの種類
イヌタデと同属で姿形が似ているのは春から夏まで花を着ける「春蓼」、花が梅のように疎らな「花蓼」です。一方、草丈が大きく、葉幅も広い「大毛蓼」は花が鮮やか紅色。葉に辛味があって薬味にもなる「柳蓼」は「本蓼」「真蓼」とも呼ばれ、「蓼食う虫も好きずき」の蓼です。
Creeping Smartweed
Origin of Creeping Smartweed
Creeping Smartweed is an annual plant of the Polygonaceae family. It originated in southeastern area of Asia and was brought to Japan along with rice cultivation. From Hokkaido to Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa, it grows naturally in sunny fields, roadsides, and rice fields. Since ancient times, it has been popular as a “playing flower”. The language of flowers is “I want to be useful for you”.
Name of Creeping Smartweed
“Dog knotweed” which is Creeping Smartweed in English means “inedible knotweed”. The leaves do not have the pungent taste of the edible “Persicaria hydropiper”. The other Japanese name, “Aka manma”, comes from the fact that children play with flowers and berries like red rice. The Latin genus name Persicaria is “peach” in the shape of a leaf, and the species name Longiseta is “long stinging hair” and is derived from the fringes of the stipule sheath.
Shape of Creeping Smartweed
Creeping Smartweed have branched stems, crawl on the ground and stand up. The leaves are long and elliptical and alternate. Flowers are dense with small grains like ears at the tip of the stem. There are 8 stamens, the pistil has 3 cleft style, and the petal-like calyx is 5 cleft deep. After flowering, it bears triangular achenes, that turns glossy black-brown when ripe.
Types of Creeping Smartweed
There are two species that are similar in shape to Creeping Smartweed. One is “maculosa” which blooms from spring to summer, and the other is “posumbu” which has sparse flowers like plum. On the other hand, “orientalis”, which has taller plants and wider leaves, has bright red flowers. The “hydropiper”, whose leaves have a pungent taste and can be used as a condiment and is the knotweed of Japanese idiom “Some insects feed on spicy plants such as knotweed”.
