リュウノウギクは、晩秋～初冬に花が咲く野菊の一種。葉を揉むと芳香を発し、血液循環を促したり、中枢神経を刺激する生薬でもあります。
Chrysanthemum Japonicum is a type of wild chrysanthemum that blooms from late autumn to early winter. It is also a crude drug that emits an aroma when the leaves are rubbed, promotes blood circulation, and stimulates the central nervous system.
【仮名】リュウノウギク
【和名】竜脳菊
【英名】Chrysanthemum Japonicum, Chrysanthemum Makinoi
【学名】Chrysanthemum japonicum
【誕生】11/ 21
【開花】10, 11月
【花色】White, Pink
リュウノウギク
リュウノウギクの生態
リュウノウギクはキク科の多年草。北は本州の福島県、新潟県から、南は九州の宮崎県まで分布し、日当たりのよい山地の林縁などに自生しています。周年で花が咲く「家菊」に分類も外観も近いものの、晩秋～初冬に花が咲く「野菊」の一種。花言葉は「無常の美」「忠誠心」です。
リュウノウギクの名前
リュウノウギクの名前の由来は葉を揉むと芳香を発し、それが東南アジアに自生する常緑高木から採れる精油「竜脳」のような匂いだからです。日本など東アジアに自生する常緑高木から採れる精油「樟脳」にも似た香り。いずれも昔から虫よけや気つけ薬などに用いられてきました。
リュウノウギクの姿形
リュウノウギクの茎は細く頼りなく、斜めになったり、垂れ下がったり。下のほうが木質化するものの、真っ直ぐに立ち上がることがありません。葉は互生し、浅く３つに裂けて縁がギザギザ。表面に毛が密生します。花は舌状花が白色～桃色、筒状花が黄色。花後は痩果を結びます。
リュウノウギクの利用
リュウノウギクは血液循環を促したり、中枢神経を刺激する成分「モノテルペン」を含む生薬です。茎や葉は、生のまま揉み潰して擦り傷、切り傷、虫刺されなどに。または、乾燥して刻み、木綿袋に詰めて浴槽に入れ、肩こり、腰痛、冷え症、リウマチ、神経痛などに用いられます。
Chrysanthemum Japonicum
Ecology of Chrysanthemum Japonicum
Chrysanthemum Japonicum is a perennial plant of the Asteraceae family. It is distributed from Fukushima Prefecture and Niigata Prefecture in Honshu in the north to Miyazaki Prefecture in Kyushu in the south, and grows naturally in sunny mountain forest edges. Although it is similar in classification and appearance to “florist’s chrysanthemum”, which blooms every year, it is a type of “wild chrysanthemum” that blooms from late autumn to early winter. The language of flowers is “impermanent beauty” and “loyalty”.
Name of Chrysanthemum Japonicum
The Japanese name of Chrysanthemum Japonicum means that when the leaves are rubbed, they give off a fragrance, and it smells like the essential oil “borneol” extracted from evergreen trees that grow naturally in Southeast Asia. It has a scent similar to “camphor”, an essential oil extracted from evergreen trees that grow naturally in Japan and other parts of East Asia. Both have long been used as insect repellents and tonics.
Shape of Chrysanthemum Japonicum
The stalks of the Chrysanthemum Japonicum are thin and unreliable. Although the bottom is woody, it does not stand up straight. The leaves are alternate and shallowly divided into three with jagged margins. The surface is densely hairy. As for the flowers, the ligulate flowers are white to pink, and the tubular flowers are yellow. After flowering, it bears achenes.
Use of Chrysanthemum Japonicum
Chrysanthemum Japonicum is a herbal medicine containing a component called “monoterpene” that promotes blood circulation and stimulates the central nervous system. Stems and leaves are raw and crushed for scrapes, cuts, insect bites, etc. Alternatively, it can be dried, chopped, put in a cotton bag, put in a bathtub, and used for stiff shoulders, lower back pain, sensitivity to cold, rheumatism, and neuralgia.
