ガガイモの花は深い５裂の星形で、内側に軟毛が密生します。雄しべ５本が合着、雌しべが突出。袋果は熟すと割れて、種髪が風に舞います。
Rough Potato flowers are deeply five-lobed and star-shaped, with dense soft hairs growing inside. Five stamens are joined together and a pistil protrudes. When the capsule ripens, it splits open, and the coma emerges and dances in the wind.
【仮名】ガガイモ
【和名】蘿摩
【英名】Rough Potato
【学名】Metaplexis japonica
【誕生】07/ 18, 08/ 26
【開花】07, 08, 09, 10月
【花色】White, Pink, Purple
ガガイモ
ガガイモの概要
ガガイモはキョウチクトウ科の蔓性多年草です。日本では北海道から九州まで、国外では朝鮮半島、中国に分布し、山野の陽当たり、水はけの良いところで自生。ふわふわと風に舞う花後の種髪は見かけた人に幸せをもたらす不思議な毛玉「ケサランパサラン」の正体ともいわれます。
ガガイモの名前
ガガイモのガガは「加々美」「屈み」「鏡」などからの転訛。加々美は古名に、屈みは地面を匍匐する蔓に、鏡は袋果の内面の光沢に由来します。イモは地下茎でなく、袋果の外観が「芋」に似ているから。葉を傷つけると白色の液体が滲み出るため、「乳草」という別名もあります。
ガガイモの姿形
ガガイモの地下茎は太く長く伸び、蔓は右巻きに絡みながら伸びます。葉は先の尖った長卵形で対生。花は深い５裂の星形で、内側に軟毛が密生します。雄しべ５本が合着、雌しべが突出。花後の袋果は紡錘形で表面に突起があり、熟すと割れて、綿毛がついた種子を風で飛ばします。
ガガイモの利用
ガガイモは、漢方の生薬として葉「蘿摩」が解毒に、種子「蘿摩子」が強壮に用いられるほか、民間療法では葉が虫刺されや腫れに、種子が切り傷の止血に用いられます。食用は若芽がお浸しや和え物などに、幼果が天ぷらや漬物などに。一方、根茎は毒性があるので利用できません。
Rough Potato
Rough Potato is a vine-like perennial plant of the Apocynaceae family. It is found in Japan from Hokkaido to Kyushu, and overseas in the Korean Peninsula and China. It grows naturally in sunny, well-drained areas of the mountains and fields. The fluffy coma that dances in the wind after the flower is said to be the true identity of the mysterious ball of fuzz “angel hair” that brings happiness to those who see it.
The Japanese name for Rough Potato means “Gaga Potato.” The origin of Gaga is uncertain. Potato is not an underground stem, but the appearance of the capsule is similar. It is also known as “Milk Weed” because a white liquid oozes out when the leaves are damaged.
Rough Potato’s underground stem grows thick and long. The vine grows by twisting to the right. The leaves are long oval with pointed tips and grow opposite each other. The flowers are deep, star-shaped with five lobes, and are densely covered with soft hairs on the inside. The five stamens are fused together, and the pistil protrudes. The capsule that grows after the flower is spindle-shaped with protrusions on the surface, and when ripe, it splits open, releasing the fluffy seeds that are blown away by the wind.
Rough Potato is used as a traditional Chinese medicine, with the leaves used to detoxify and the seeds used to strengthen the body. In folk medicine, the leaves are used to treat insect bites and swelling, and the seeds to stop bleeding from cuts. For food, the young shoots are used in blanched dishes and salads, and the young fruits are used in tempura and pickles. The rhizomes, on the other hand, cannot be used because they are poisonous.
