チョウセンアサガオの和名は「朝顔に似る外来の花」といった意味。別名の「曼陀羅華」は天上で芳香を放つ白花で、仏様とともに現れます。
The Japanese name of Indian Thorn Apple means “foreign flower resembling morning glory”. On the other hand, there is another name according to legend, which is a white flower that emits a fragrance in the sky and appears with Buddha.
【仮名】チョウセンアサガオ, マンダラゲ
【和名】朝鮮朝顔, 曼陀羅華
【英名】Indian Thorn Apple, Hindu Datura
【学名】Datura metel
【誕生】09/ 04, 10/ 23
【開花】08, 09, 10月
【花色】White
チョウセンアサガオ
チョウセンアサガオの概要
チョウセンアサガオはナス科の一年草。原産地は南アジアで、日本へは17世紀に薬用で渡来しました。19世紀に医師の華岡青洲が鳥兜や当帰などを加えた麻酔薬「通仙散」を用い、世界で初めて乳がんの摘出手術に成功。本州以南の温暖な地域で野生化し、人里近くで自生しています。
チョウセンアサガオの名前
チョウセンアサガオの和名は「朝顔に似る外来の花」といった意味。別名「曼陀羅華」は天上で芳香を放つ白花で、仏様とともに現れます。ラテン語の属名ダチュラはサンスクリット語で「白い棘のある林檎」という意味。種小名メテルは「果実」を意味するアラビア語に由来します。
チョウセンアサガオの姿形
チョウセンアサガオの茎は赤紫色を帯びて盛んに分岐します。葉は先の尖った楕円形で互生。鈍い光沢のある緑色で、縁が緩やかに波打ちます。花は５裂の漏斗型で上を向いて咲き、縁に尾状の突起が５つ、雄しべが５本。蒴果は短い棘のある球形で、熟すと割れて種子を散らします。
チョウセンアサガオの利用
チョウセンアサガオは副交感神経が鈍麻し、中枢神経が過敏になる成分トロパンアルカロイドを含有。古くから鎮痛作用などの薬効が知られる一方、誤って摂取すると、嘔吐や下痢、瞳孔の散大、異常な興奮、精神錯乱などの中毒症状が現れ、重篤になると死に至る可能性もあります。
Indian Thorn Apple
Indian Thorn Apple is an annual plant of the Solanaceae family. It is native to South Asia and was introduced to Japan in the 17th century for medicinal purposes. In the 19th century, the doctor Hanaoka Seishu used an anesthetic made by adding herbal medicines such as Aconite to Indian Thorn Apple and successfully performed the world’s first breast cancer removal surgery. It has become wild in warm areas south of Honshu and grows near human settlements.
The Japanese name of Indian Thorn Apple means “foreign flower resembling morning glory”. On the other hand, there is another name according to legend, which is a white flower that emits a fragrance in the sky and appears with Buddha. The Latin genus name Datura means “white apple with thorns” in Sanskrit. The specific name metel comes from the Arabic word for “fruit”.
The stems of Indian Thorn Apple are purple and branch vigorously. The leaves are alternate, oval with pointed tips. They are a dull, shiny green with gently wavy edges. The flowers are five-lobed, funnel-shaped, and bloom upwards, with five tail-like projections on the edges and five stamens. The capsules are spherical with short spines, and when ripe, they split open to scatter the seeds.
Indian Thorn Apple contains tropane alkaloids, which dull the parasympathetic nervous system and hypersensitize the central nervous system. While it has long been known for its medicinal properties such as analgesic effects, if ingested by mistake, symptoms of poisoning such as vomiting, diarrhea, dilated pupils, abnormal excitement, and mental confusion may appear, and in severe cases, it may even lead to death.
