''Erythronium japonicum'', known as Asian fawn lily, Oriental fawn lily, Japanese fawn lily is a pink-flowered species
trout lily
''Erythronium'', the fawn lily, trout lily, dog's-tooth violet or adder's tongue, is a genus of Eurasian and North American plants in the lily family, most closely related to tulips. The name Erythronium derives from Ancient Greek () "red" in ...
, belonging to the
Lily family and native to
Japan,
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
, the
Russian Far East
The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admin ...
(
Sakhalin Island,
Kuril Islands
The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...
) and northeastern
China (
Jilin
Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea ( Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...
and
Liaoning).
[Flora of China v 24 p 126](_blank)
/ref> It is a spring ephemeral, blooming April–June in woodlands. It is known as ''zhūyáhuā'' () in Chinese, ''eolleji'' () in Korean, and ''katakuri'' () in Japanese.
''Erythronium japonicum'' has a stem up to long, although as much as 30% of the stem may be underground. Bulb is elongated, up to long but rarely more than . Leaves are broadly elliptical to lanceolate, the blade up to long and wide. Flowers are solitary, rose-colored.
Applying the generic common name ''trout lily'' may be somewhat of a misnomer, because in the Japanese species, the individual plant may or may not exhibit the flecked dark markings on the leaves, which is emblematic of that common name (see gallery
Gallery or The Gallery may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Art gallery
** Contemporary art gallery
Music
* Gallery (band), an American soft rock band of the 1970s
Albums
* ''Gallery'' (Elaiza album), 2014 album
* ''Gallery'' (Gr ...
below).
Protective status
Reporting is mixed on whether it should be regarded as endangered in Japan. One source adds it to a list of wildflowers that should be included as endangered, but the so-called or environmental specialist certification, run by the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI), has had an exam question in the past, where the correct answer to "Is katakuri endangered" was "no". The Japanese ministry ( MOE)'s version of the ''Red Data Book'' has not handed down an assessment of the whole species,[. yellow=''jun-zetsumetsu kigu shu''(NT); orange=絶滅危惧IB (VU); mauve=絶滅危惧I (EN/CR). See :ja:template:生物分類表] even though in the ''Red Data Book'' compiled by individual prefectures, its status is evaluated at "near threatened" (''jun-zetsumetsu kigu shu'') in Hyōgo and Mie,[ and rated vulnerable-endangered in ]Shikoku
is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...
and southern Kanto
Kantō (Japanese)
Kanto is a simplified spelling of , a Japanese word, only omitting the diacritics.
In Japan
Kantō may refer to:
*Kantō Plain
*Kantō region
*Kantō-kai, organized crime group
*Kanto (Pokémon), a geographical region in the ' ...
.[
This woodland plant is more vulnerable, since it has a very short season and is slow-growing.][ It needs to grow into a 7–8 year old plant before it finally blooms,] so will not rebound in numbers once taken. In Niiharu (Midori-ku, Yokohama
is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 176,038 and a density of 6,900 persons per km². The total area was 25.42 km².
Geography
Midori Ward is loc ...
), the colony was entirely wiped out (poached) overnight shortly after media coverage about it blooming in the area.[
A colony that can be viewed within the confines of metropolitan Tokyo is at which translates approximately to "Shimizuyama grove of respite", in ]Nerima-ku
is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The ward refers to itself as Nerima City.
, the ward has an estimated population of 721,858, with 323,296 households and a population density of 15,013 persons per km2, while 15,326 foreign residents are re ...
. This is somewhat in the neighborhood of the Tomitaro Makino
200px, Tomitaro Makino
was a pioneer Japanese botanist noted for his taxonomic work. He has been called "Father of Japanese Botany". He was one of the first Japanese botanists to work extensively on classifying Japanese plants using the system ...
memorial garden which also has a small number of plants planted.
Uses
The , is a starch that bears the name of this plant, which originally refers to the starch from the ''E. japonicum'' bulb. Because of its small quantity, this starch is no longer common; potato starch
Potato starch is starch extracted from potatoes. The cells of the root tubers of the potato plant contain leucoplasts (starch grains). To extract the starch, the potatoes are crushed, and the starch grains are released from the destroyed cells. T ...
has taken its place and name nowadays.
This plant is not known to be farmed, and has been harvested from wild colonies by poachers, but probably not by seekers of starch sources, but by wildflower enthusiasts or traffickers.
The plant powder was also used as ointment to treat rashes.
The rumor that it is used in wagashi
are traditional Japanese confections that are often served with green tea, especially the types made of ''mochi'', ''anko'' ( azuki bean paste), and fruit. ''Wagashi'' are typically made from plant-based ingredients.
History
In Japan, the wo ...
, particularly in the confection called ''katakuri-rakugan'' is apocryphal, since historian states that this confection, which used to be traditionally presented to Morioka Domain
300px, Ruins of Morioka Castle
was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period Japan. It was ruled throughout its history by the Nanbu clan. It was called during the early part of its history. It was located in northern Mutsu Province, Honshū, ...
, was made from the starch of lily bulbs.[ 「藩の献上菓子たる片栗落雁(百合根からとった殿粉によって製した菓子)とともに有名な献上品である。」]
Additional photos
Image:Erythronium japonicum 2006 001.jpg
Image:Erythronium japonicum 2006 007.jpg
Image:Erythronium japonicum 2006 009.jpg
line drawing of ''Erythronium japonicum'', Flora of China Illustrations vol. 24, fig. 109, 5-7
References
* , p. 149-150
*
{{Authority control
japonicum
Flora of Japan
Flora of Korea
Flora of China
Flora of Russia
Flora of Liaoning
Flora of Jilin
Japanese cuisine
Root vegetables
Plants described in 1854
Edible plants
Garden plants
Taxa named by Joseph Decaisne