Erythronium japonicum

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{More citations needed|type =plant|date=December 2009}} {{Speciesbox |image = Erythronium japonicum 2006 005.jpg |genus = Erythronium |species = japonicum |authority = Decne. |synonyms = *''Erythronium japonicum'' Poit. *''Erythronium japonicum'' f. ''album'' C.F. Fang *''Erythronium japonicum'' f. ''immaculatum'' P.Y.Fu & Q.S.Sun *''Erythronium japonicum'' f. ''immaculatum'' Sun, Q.S. *''Erythronium japonicum'' var. ''leucanthum'' I.Yamam. & Tsukam. *''Erythronium japonicum'' f. ''leucanthum'' (I.Yamam. & Tsukam.) Okuyama |synonyms_ref = <ref>The Plant List</ref> }}

'''''Erythronium japonicum''''', known as '''Asian fawn lily''',<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.forest.go.kr/kna/special/download/English_Names_for_Korean_Native_Plants.pdf|title=English Names for Korean Native Plants|publisher=Korea National Arboretum|year=2015|isbn=978-89-97450-98-5|location=Pocheon|pages=358|access-date=4 January 2017|via=Korea Forest Service|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525105020/http://www.forest.go.kr/kna/special/download/English_Names_for_Korean_Native_Plants.pdf|archive-date=25 May 2017}}</ref> '''Oriental fawn lily''', '''Japanese fawn lily''' is a pink-flowered species '''trout lily''', belonging to the Lily family and native to Japan, Korea, the Russian Far East (Sakhalin Island, Kuril Islands) and northeastern China (Jilin and Liaoning).<ref name="corahalasan">[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200027627 Flora of China v 24 p 126]</ref><ref>"[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=305780 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]". ''apps.kew.org''.</ref> It is a spring ephemeral, blooming April–June in woodlands. It is known as ''zhūyáhuā'' ({{lang|zh|猪牙花}}) in Chinese, ''eolleji'' ({{lang|ko|얼레지}}) in Korean, and ''katakuri'' ({{lang|ja|片栗}}) in Japanese.

''Erythronium japonicum'' has a stem up to {{convert|20|cm}} long, although as much as 30% of the stem may be underground. Bulb is elongated, up to {{cvt|6|cm}} long but rarely more than {{cvt|1|cm|adj=mid||wide}}. Leaves are broadly elliptical to lanceolate, the blade up to {{convert|12|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|7|cm|in|abbr=on}} wide. Flowers are solitary, rose-colored.<ref name="corahalasan"/><ref>Decaisne, Joseph. 1854. Revue Horticole, sér. 4, 3: 284.</ref><ref>P.Y.Fu & Q.S.Sun. 1992. Flora Liaoningica 2: 1159.</ref><ref>I.Yamam. & Tsukam. 1932. Flora Hakodate 192.</ref><ref>Sun, Q.S. 1995. ''Bulletin of Botanical Research'', Harbin '''15'''(3): 332–333.</ref><ref>Okuyama. 1955. ''Journal of Japanese Botany'' '''30''': 32.</ref>

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 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,<ref name=okui>{{Harvnb|Okui|2005}}</ref> but the so-called {{Interlanguage link|Eco kentei|ja|3=環境社会検定}} 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".<ref>{{cite book|author=eco検定合格プロジェクト|title=eco検定問題集決定版過去問・一問一答・模擬{{!}}秀和システム|year=2010}}, p.199</ref> The Japanese ministry (MOE)'s version of the ''Red Data Book'' has not handed down an assessment of the whole species,<ref name=rdb>{{cite web|author=Association of Wildlife Research|author2=EnVision|title=Red Data Book search (Erythronium japonicum)|year=2007|url=http://www.jpnrdb.com/search.php?mode=map&q=06050085192|access-date=9 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015091439/http://www.jpnrdb.com/search.php?mode=map&q=06050085192|archive-date=2014-10-15|url-status=dead}}. 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</ref> 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,<ref name=rdb/> and rated vulnerable-endangered in Shikoku and southern Kanto.<ref name=rdb/>

This woodland plant is more vulnerable, since it has a very short season and is slow-growing.<ref name=okui/> It needs to grow into a 7–8 year old plant before it finally blooms,<ref name=okui/><ref name=kogure>{{Harvnb|Kogure|2011}}</ref> so will not rebound in numbers once taken. In Niiharu (Midori-ku, Yokohama), the colony was entirely wiped out (poached) overnight shortly after media coverage about it blooming in the area.<ref name=kogure/>

A colony in Tokyo can be viewed at {{Interlanguage link|Shimizuyama-ikoi-no-mori|ja|3=清水山憩いの森}}, in Nerima-ku. Nearby, the Tomitaro Makino Memorial Garden also has a small number of plants planted.

==Uses== The {{Nihongo|''katakuriko''|片栗粉|"katakuri powder"}}, 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 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.<ref>Cf. {{Harvnb|Kogure|2011}}. The author does not explicit state this for the case of the apprehended poacher, but it is implicit, as it carries over from his discussion concerning the impact of poaching on orchids (''shunran'', ''ebine'' etc.) and other countryside species.</ref>

The plant powder was also used as ointment to treat rashes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kotobank.jp/word/片栗粉-44925|title=片栗粉|work=ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典 at kotobank.jp|language=ja|access-date=August 5, 2015}}</ref>

The rumor that it is used in wagashi, particularly in the confection called ''katakuri-rakugan'' is apocryphal, since historian {{Interlanguage link|Kahei Mori|ja|3=森嘉兵衛}} states that this confection, which used to be traditionally presented to Morioka Domain, was made from the starch of lily bulbs.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mori|first=Kahei(森嘉兵衛)|title=岩手県の歴史 (history of Iwate Prefecture)|year=1972|publisher=Yamakawa Shuppansha(山川出版社)|page=62|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UsnTAAAAMAAJ|format=snippet}} 「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。」</ref>

==Additional photos== {{Commons}} <gallery> Image:Erythronium japonicum 2006 001.jpg Image:Erythronium japonicum 2006 007.jpg Image:Erythronium japonicum 2006 009.jpg </gallery> *[http://www.tropicos.org/Image/34915 line drawing of ''Erythronium japonicum'', Flora of China Illustrations vol. 24, fig. 109, 5-7 ]

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{Refbegin}} * {{cite book |last=Kogure |first=Katsuji(小暮勝治) |title= 里山讃花: 私の花散歩・自然観察記 (Satoyama sanka: watashi no hana sanpo / shizen kansatsuki)|publisher=Bungeisha(文芸社 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WlRltsB70BYC&pg=PA149 |format=preview |year=2011 |isbn= 978-4887377042}}, p. 149-150 *{{cite book |last=Okui |first=Noriyuki(奥井則行) |title= 環境教育の試み: 身近な生物的自然を活用して(Kankyo kyoiku no kokoromi: mijika na seibutsu-gaku teki shizen wo katsuyo shite) |publisher=Bungeisha(文芸社) |year=2005 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=tyECsI7QoHwC|pages=88–90 |isbn= 4835585976}} {{Refend}}

japonicum Category:Flora of Japan Category:Flora of Korea Category:Flora of China Category:Flora of Russia Category:Flora of Liaoning Category:Flora of Jilin Category:Japanese cuisine Category:Root vegetables Category:Plants described in 1854 Category:Edible plants Category:Garden plants Category:Taxa named by Joseph Decaisne