むにんつつじ (無人躑躅) [Index] [Back] わが国の固有種で、小笠原諸島父島だけに生えています。山地に生え、高さは２〜３メートルになります。枝や葉柄には淡褐色の長剛毛が密生します。葉は広披針形で、長さ３．５〜６センチ、やや革質です。おもに４月下旬から５月中旬に、枝先の１個の花芽から２〜３個の白色の花を咲かせます。  ツツジ科ツツジ属の常緑低木で、学名は Rhododendron boninense。英名はありません。  "Munin-tsutsuji" (Rhododendron boninense) belongs to Ericaceae (the Azalea family). It is a small evergreen tree that is endemic to Japan and grows only on Chichijima Island in the Ogasawara Islands. It grows in mountainous areas and is 2 to 3 m tall. The branches and petioles are densely covered with long, stiff, light brown hairs. The leaves are broadly lanceolate, 3.5 to 6 cm long, and somewhat leathery. Two to three white flowers bloom from a single flower bud at the tip of a branch, mainly from late April to mid-May.  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