しろみなんてん (白実南天)

Nandina domestica var. leucocarpa

Nandina domestica var. leucocarpa

わが国の本州、茨城県以西から四国・九州それに中国やインドに分布する「なんてん(南天)」の変種です。山野に生え、高さは3メートルほどになります。葉は3回奇数羽状複葉で互生し、小葉は披針形です。5月から6月ごろ、枝先に円錐花序をだし、白色の花を咲かせます。果実は球形の液果で、晩秋に黄白色に熟します。 
メギ科ナンテン属の常緑低木で、学名は Nandina domestica var. leucocarpa。英名は Yellow-fruited heavenly bamboo。 
The Yellow-fruited heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica var. leucocarpa) belongs to Berberidaceae (the Barberry family). It is a small evergreen tree that is a variety of "Heavenly bamboo" that is distributed from Ibaraki prefecture of Honshu west to Shikoku, Kyushu in Japan, and China and India. It grows in the mountains and is about 3 m high. The leaves alternate odd-tripinnately compound, and the leaflets are lanceolate. From May to June, panicles are borne on the tips of the branches and white flowers come in bloom. The fruits are spherical berries and ripen yellowish white in late fall. 
大阪府交野市「大阪市大付属植物園」にて、2005年11月03日撮影。 

Shu Suehiro
shu@botanic.jp