シュンランは山野の陽当たりと水はけのよいところで自生。春に花が咲く地生蘭です。花言葉は「控えめな美」「飾らない心」「気品」など。
Riverstream Orchid grows naturally in the mountains and fields where it is sunny and well-drained. It is a terrestrial orchid that blooms in spring. The language of flowers is “modest beauty”, “unadorned heart”, and “elegance”.
【仮名】シュンラン
【和名】春蘭
【英名】Riverstream Orchid
【学名】Cymbidium goeringii
【誕生】01/ 19, 03/ 26
【開花】03, 04月
【花色】White, Green
シュンラン
シュンランの生態
シュンランはラン科の常緑多年草です。日本では北海道から九州まで分布し、山野の陽当たりと水はけのよいところで自生。根から養水分を吸収し、葉で光合成しながら、共生する腐生菌や外生菌根菌からも栄養を受け取ります。花言葉は「控えめな美」「飾らない心」「気品」など。
シュンランの名前
シュンランの名前の由来は、姿形が中国で自生する近縁種に似ていて、中国で「春蘭」と呼ばれていたから。どちらも春に花を咲かせます。ラテン語の属名シンビジウムは「舟の形」という意味で唇弁に由来。種小名ゲーリンギイは19世紀のドイツの植物学者ゲーリングへの献名です。
シュンランの姿形
シュンランは地中の偽球茎から縁に鋸歯の入った細長い葉と薄い膜に覆われた花茎が伸長。花は１茎１輪で横向きに咲きます。花の造りは大きな上萼片１枚と側萼片２枚、小さな側花弁２枚と唇弁１枚、雄しべと雌しべが合着した蕊柱。花後の蒴果は微細な種子が無数に入っています。
シュンランの近縁
シュンランの近縁「中国春蘭」も同じく地中に根を張る地生蘭。春に花茎を１本伸ばし、先端に花を１輪咲かせ、「一茎一花」とも呼ばれます。日本の在来種より花が華やかで、香りも強く、葉が滑らか。昔から高貴な花とされ、自生種から選別・改良された多くの園芸種があります。
シュンランの利用
シュンランは食用にもなり、花茎を調理して天ぷらや酢の物などに、お酒に浮かべて疲労回復や滋養強壮に、塩漬けにして祝いの席に供されました。根は薬用として皮膚のひび割れやあかぎれなどの炎症に。昔は全国各地で自生していましたが、今では採り過ぎにより衰退しています。
Riverstream Orchid
Ecology of Riverstream Orchid
Riverstream Orchid is an evergreen perennial of the Orchidaceae family. In Japan, it is distributed from Hokkaido to Kyushu, and grows naturally in sunny and well-drained areas in mountains and fields. It absorbs nutrients and water through its roots, photosynthesises in its leaves, and receives nutrients from symbiotic saprophytes and ectomycorrhizal fungi. The language of flowers is “modest beauty”, “unadorned heart”, and “elegance”.
Name of Riverstream Orchid
The Japanese name of Riverstream Orchid means “spring orchid”, because a related species with a similar shape was called that way in China. Both bloom in spring. The Latin genus name Cymbidium means “boat-shaped” and is derived from the lip. The specific epithet goeringii comes from the 19th-century German botanist Goering.
Form of Riverstream Orchid
Riverstream Orchid extends elongated leaves with serrated margins and flower stalks covered with a thin membrane from an underground pseudocorm. One flower blooms sideways on one stem. The flower consists of 1 large upper sepal, 2 lateral sepals, 2 small lateral petals, 1 lip, and a column of stamens and pistils joined together. Post-flowering capsules contain countless tiny seeds.
Relatives of Riverstream Orchid
The Chinese relative of Riverstream Orchid “Cymbidium forrestii Rolfe” is also a terrestrial orchid that takes root in the ground. In spring, one flower stalk is stretched and one flower blooms at the tip, which is also called “one stem one flower”. The flowers are more gorgeous than the Japanese native species, the scent is stronger, and the leaves are smoother. It has been considered a noble flower since ancient times, and there are many horticultural species that have been selected and improved from native species.
Use of Riverstream Orchid
Riverstream Orchid is edible. The flower stems are served in tempura and vinegared dishes, floated in sake to recover from fatigue and tonic, and salted and served at celebratory occasions. The root is used for medicinal purposes, such as cracks and chapped skin. It used to grow naturally all over the country, but now it is declining due to over-harvesting.
