ムラサキソシンカは蝶々が丸い羽を広げて並んでいるように葉っぱを枝に連ね、血潮のように赤紫色の脈が走る艶やかな離弁花を咲かせます。
Orchid Trees have leaves that grow on their branches like butterflies with their round wings spread, and they produce gorgeous polypetalous flowers with purple veins that look like blood.
【仮名】ムラサキソシンカ, ヨウテイボク
【和名】紫素芯花, 羊蹄木
【英名】Orchid Tree, Butterfly Tree, Purple Bauhinia
【学名】Bauhinia purpurea
【誕生】04/ 01
【開花】01, 02, 11, 12月
【花色】Pink, Purple
ムラサキソシンカ
ムラサキソシンカの概要
ムラサキソシンカはマメ科の落葉中高木。原産地の東南アジア～南アジアでは観賞用に栽培されるほか、昔から料理や薬にも用いられました。花言葉は「希望」。蝶々が丸い羽を広げて並んでいるように葉っぱを枝に連ね、血潮のように赤紫色の脈が走る艶やかな離弁花を咲かせます。
ムラサキソシンカの名前
ムラサキソシンカの名前の由来は赤紫色の「素芯花」だから。「蘇芯花」「素心花」とも書かれますが、由来はわかりません。ラテン語の属名バウヒニアは16～17世紀のスイスの植物学者ジャン＆ガスパール・ボーアン兄弟への献名。種小名プルプレアは「赤紫色の」という意味です。
ムラサキソシンカの姿形
ムラサキソシンカの樹皮は褐色です。葉は丸く、真ん中が深く裂けて互生。形がヒツジの爪先に似ていることから「羊蹄甲」という漢名があります。花は花被５枚の離弁花で雄しべが５本、雌しべが上向きに反って突出。蘭に似ていることからオーキッドツリーという英名があります。
ムラサキソシンカの利用
ムラサキソシンカは東南アジア～南アジアで鑑賞用に栽培されるほか、昔から食用や薬用に。葉や花は柑橘系の酸味があり、料理や漬け物などの調味に用いられます。葉は湿布薬として腫れ、打撲、潰瘍などに、煎じて咳、発熱、胃炎などに。花は下剤に、樹皮は解毒に用いられます。
Orchid Tree
Orchid Tree is a deciduous medium-sized tree of the Fabaceae family. In its native region of Southeast Asia and South Asia, it is cultivated for ornamental purposes, and has long been used in cooking and medicine. The flower language is “hope.” They have leaves that grow on their branches like butterflies with their round wings spread, and they produce gorgeous polypetalous flowers with purple veins that look like blood.
The Japanese name for Orchid Tree means “Purple Bauhinia.” It is written in several Chinese characters, but the origin of none of them is known. The Latin genus name Bauhinia is a tribute to the Swiss botanist brothers Jean and Gaspard Bauhin from the 16th and 17th centuries. The specific name purpurea means “purple.”
The bark of Orchid Tree is brown. The leaves are round, deeply lobed in the middle, and alternate. The Chinese name for the leaves means “sheep’s toe.” The flower is a five-petaled, polypetalous flower with five stamens and a pistil that curves upwards. The flower resembles an orchid, which is where its English name comes from.
Orchid trees are cultivated for decorative purposes in Southeast and South Asia, and have long been used for food and medicine. The leaves and flowers have a citrus-like sour taste and are used to season dishes and pickles. The leaves are used as a poultice for swelling, bruises, and ulcers, and are boiled and drunk for coughs, fevers, gastritis, and other conditions. The flowers are used as a laxative, and the bark is used to detoxify.
