ギンヨウアカシアは春の風が枝葉を揺らすと、檸檬色に山吹色を混ぜたような花々が、ふんわりと控えめに香ります。花言葉は「密かな恋」。
When the spring wind sways the branches of Cootamundra Wattle, the lemon-colored flowers give off a soft, subtle fragrance. The flower’s meaning is “secret love.”
【仮名】ギンヨウアカシア
【和名】銀葉アカシア
【英名】Cootamundra Wattle, Golden Mimosa
【学名】Acacia baileyana
【誕生】03/ 19, 04/ 09
【開花】03, 04月
【花色】Yellow
ギンヨウアカシア
ギンヨウアカシアの概要
ギンヨウアカシアはマメ科アカシア属の常緑高木です。原産地はオーストラリアの南東部で、日本へは明治時代の終わりに渡来。春の風が枝葉を揺らすと、檸檬色に山吹色を混ぜたような花々が、ふんわりと控えめに香ります。花言葉は「密かな恋」。心深く想いを寄せる人の花です。
ギンヨウアカシアの名前
ギンヨウアカシアの名前の由来は葉に銀色の光沢があるからです。英名のクータムンドラは豪州のニューサウスウェールズ州にある地名。ワットルは「編み枝」という意味です。ラテン語の属名アカシアは「棘」という意味。種小名ベイリアナは米国の植物学者ベイリーへの献名です。
ギンヨウアカシアの姿形
ギンヨウアカシアは幹が灰褐色、枝が青緑色。根が浅く広がります。葉は偶数羽状複葉で螺旋状に互生。硬く短い葉が櫛状に並びます。花は長い雄しべが丸く密集。ポンポン飾りのような小花が枝先で連なって咲きます。褐色の平たい豆果は熟すと裂開。黒色の丸い種子を散らします。
ギンヨウアカシアの近縁
ギンヨウアカシアの近縁「房アカシア」も豪州原産の常緑高木。寒さに弱く、日本では育てにくいものの、冬が温暖な地中海沿岸などでは大きく育ちます。長く柔らかい緑色の葉を伸ばし、少し早めに開花。花が大きく、香りが強く、欧州では「ミモザ」と呼ばれ、親しまれています。
Cootamundra Wattle
Cootamundra Wattle is an evergreen tall tree of the Fabaceae family. It is native to the southeastern part of Australia and was introduced to Japan at the end of the Meiji period. When the spring wind sways the branches of Cootamundra Wattle, the lemon-colored flowers give off a soft, subtle fragrance. The flower’s meaning is “secret love.” It is a flower for someone who is deeply in love.
The Japanese name of Cootamundra Wattle means “silver-leaf acacia.” This is because the leaves have a silvery luster. The English name Cootamundra is the name of a place in New South Wales, Australia. Wattle means “branch.” The Latin genus name Acacia means “thorn”. The specific name baileyana is a tribute to the American botanist Liberty Hyde Bailey.
Cootamundra Wattle has gray-brown trunks and blue-green branches. Its roots are shallow and spread out. The leaves are even-pinnate compound leaves that grow alternately in a spiral. The stiff, short leaves are arranged in a comb-like pattern. The flowers are round and dense with long stamens. Small flowers that look like pompoms bloom in a row at the ends of the branches. The brown, flat legumes split open when ripe. They scatter round, black seeds.
Acacia dealbata, a close relative of Cootamundra Wattle, is also an evergreen tall tree native to Australia. It is weak to the cold and difficult to grow in Japan, but it grows large in areas with warm winters such as the Mediterranean coast. It grows long, soft green leaves and blooms a little earlier. The flowers are large and have a strong fragrance, and they are popularly known as “Mimosa” in Europe.
