2026 05 17 藪人参（ヤブニンジン）

 

プロペラみたい🚁な実？

「とっても個性的だなー」と目をとめたこの足もとにある植物は

藪人参（ヤブニンジン）

Osmorhiza aristata

セリ科ヤブニンジン属の多年草　属に雑草といわれる草の一つです。

葉は2〜3回羽状複葉で、小葉には鋸歯があり、やわらかく繊細な印象を与えます。この葉が食用ニンジンの葉を思わせることから、「藪人参」という名がつけられました。

ただし、食用のニンジン（Carrot）とは別の種類なので、“おいしく食べれることはない"とのことでした。しかも、似たような草に毒性があるので、誤って毒のものを口にしないように、このタイプの雑草は食べないのが身のため！といったところでしょうか、

しかしながら、根は乾燥させると生薬として薬効があり、腰痛、腹痛、頭痛などの鎮痛に煎じて使用されているのですって！

セリ科の花は放射状に開き、初夏5月～7月にかけて咲きます

枝先に複散形花序をつけ、小さな白い5弁花を咲かせる感じは線香花火のようにはじけた感じですが華やかさはあまりなく控えめな感じです。

花のあとには、藪人参ならではこの写真のようなの特徴的な果実が実ります。

この細長いプロペラのような独特の形の実は、“ひっつきむし”として通りかかった人の足元に引っ付いてたり刺さってたりしますよ。

ハイキングや山登りに行った後なんだか足元がチクチクするな～と細長い緑の"つまようじ"のようなのが引っ付いていたら、それは「藪人参」かもしれません😏

花言葉は「喜び」

おお！引っ付いてくる「喜び」ってうれしくなりませんか？うちの“野原化している庭”にも迎えたい草です。

🚁 A Seed Pod Like a Tiny Propeller?

“What a unique-looking plant!” I thought as I noticed this little plant growing at my feet.

Yabuninjin (Japanese Sweet Cicely)

Osmorhiza aristata

Yabuninjin is a perennial herb in the parsley family (Apiaceae). It is one of the wild plants commonly found along woodland paths and in lightly shaded areas.

Its leaves are finely divided two or three times, giving them a soft and delicate appearance. They resemble the leaves of a cultivated carrot, which is how the plant earned its Japanese name, “Yabuninjin” (“wild carrot of the thicket”).

Despite the name, however, it is not the same species as the familiar carrot we eat. In fact, many members of the parsley family closely resemble one another, and some can be poisonous. For that reason, it is generally best not to eat wild plants simply because they look like carrots.

Interestingly, the dried root has traditionally been used in folk medicine. It has been decocted and taken as a remedy for aches and pains such as lower back pain, stomach pain, and headaches.

Like many members of the parsley family, Yabuninjin blooms from May through July. Its tiny white five-petaled flowers are arranged in delicate umbrella-shaped clusters. To me, they look a little like miniature sparklers frozen in mid-burst—graceful and charming, though not especially showy.

After flowering, the plant produces its most distinctive feature: its fruit.

As you can see in the photo, the long, slender fruits resemble tiny green propellers. These unusual seed pods are a type of “hitchhiker,” clinging to clothing, socks, or animal fur as they pass by.

If you have ever returned from a hike or mountain walk and discovered something that felt like a tiny green toothpick stuck to your pants or socks, it might well have been Yabuninjin!

The language of flowers associated with Yabuninjin is “joy.”

And isn't there something delightful about a plant that quietly attaches itself to us and follows us home?

I would be happy to welcome this cheerful little wildflower into my own garden—though my garden is already turning into a little wild meadow.