Rohdea japonica

Last updated

Rohdea japonica
Rohdea japonica s11.jpg
Rohdea japonica flowers, Mount Fujiwara, Suzuka Mountains, Inabe, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Rohdea japonica s3.jpg
Rohdea japonica fruit, Mount Fujiwara, Suzuka Mountains, Inabe, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Nolinoideae
Genus: Rohdea
Species:
R. japonica
Binomial name
Rohdea japonica
Synonyms [1]
  • Orontium japonicumThunb. in J.A.Murray
  • Orontium liliifoliumSalisb.
  • Rohdea esquiroliiH.Lév.
  • Rohdea sinensisH.Lév.
  • Rohdea japonica var. latifoliaHatus.

Rohdea japonica is a species of plant native to Japan, China and Korea. [1] [2] [3] [4] Common names include Nippon lily, sacred lily, and Japanese sacred lily.

Contents

It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant, with fibrous roots. The leaves are evergreen, broad lanceolate, 15–50 cm long and 2.5–7 cm broad, with an acute apex. The flowers are produced in a short, stout, dense spike 3–4 cm long, each flower pale yellowish, 4–5 mm long. This is a rare instance of pollination by snails.[ citation needed ] The fruit is a red berry 8 mm diameter, produced in a tight cluster of several together.

Cultivation and uses

Traditional arrangement of Kinka Ikenobo school using omoto (Rohdea japonica) Kinka Ikenobo Jin Hua Chi Fang 002.jpg
Traditional arrangement of Kinka Ikenobō school using omoto (Rohdea japonica)

It is cultivated as an ornamental plant. In Chinese it is called wan nian qing (simplified: 万 年 青; traditional: 萬年青; lit. "evergreen"), and for this reason has been used symbolically in visual culture (e.g. on Mao badges Archived 2014-08-13 at the Wayback Machine ). In Japanese it is called omoto.

The plant is also used in traditional Chinese medicine, though it is generally regarded as inedible and possibly toxic.


References

  1. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ↑ Tanaka, N. (2010). A taxonomic revision of the genus Rohdea (Asparagaceae). Makinoa , n.s., 9: 1-54.
  3. ↑ Ohwi, J. (1984). Flora of Japan (in English): 1-1067. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
  4. ↑ Lee, W.T. (1996). Lineamenta Florae Koreae: 1-1688. Soul T'ukpyolsi: Ak'ademi Sojok.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.