いらぶなすび (伊良部茄子) [Index] [Back] わが国の南西諸島、宮古島および伊良部島、それに台湾に分布しています。海岸沿いの岩場に生え、高さは２０〜４０センチになります。茎は横に広がり、星状毛で被われて、疎らに長さ２〜７ミリの刺があります。葉は卵形で、縁は２〜３片に深く波状に切れ込みます。葉の両面には星状毛が密生し、しばしば脈上に数本の刺があります。茎の上部にサソリ状総状花序を出し、１〜４個の花を咲かせます。花冠は白色、ときに淡い青紫色で、５深裂します。果実は卵形の液果で、直径１センチほど、熟すと赤色になります。台湾華語では「宮古茄」と呼ばれます。  ナス科ナス属の常緑小低木で、学名は Solanum miyakojimense。英名はありません。  "Irabu-nasubi" (Solanum miyakojimense) belongs to Solanaceae (the Nightshade family). It is an evergreen shrub that is distributed in the Nansei Islands, Miyako and Irabu Islands in Japan, and Taiwan. It grows on rocks along the coast and is 20 to 40 cm tall. The stem spreads horizontally and is covered with stellate hairs and has sparse spines 2 to 7 mm long. The leaves are ovate, with deeply two or three wavy lobes on margins. Both sides of the leaf are densely covered with stellate hairs, often with a few spines on the veins. The scorpioid racemes are produced at the top of the stem and bear 1 to 4 flowers. The corolla is white, sometimes pale blue-purple, with five deep lobes. The fruit is an ovoid berry about 1 cm in diameter that turns red when ripe. In Taiwanese Chinese, it is called "宮古茄".  茨城県つくば市「つくば実験植物園」にて、2022年01月16日撮影。  Shu Suehiro shu@botanic.jp