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Image: Wikimedia Commons (See link for license)
Japanese Butterbur🌼
Petasites japonicus
フキ
A perennial native to Japan. In early spring, the flower buds (fuki-no-to) emerge from the ground before the leaves appear. The large, lotus-shaped leaves have edible petioles (fuki). It spreads via rhizomes to form colonies. The plant is dioecious, and fuki-no-to is the young flowering stalk.
Identification Points
- ✓Fuki-no-to (flower buds wrapped in bracts) emerge in early spring
- ✓Leaves are large, kidney- to lotus-shaped (30–80 cm in diameter)
- ✓Petioles (fuki) are green, round in cross-section, and hollow
- ✓Spreads by rhizomes to form dense colonies
Habitat
Moist grasslands, riversides, forest edges, and field margins
Season
March–April (flowers / fuki-no-to); April–September (leaves)
3D Specimen Model
Kyushu University, Shikano Lab (CC0)
View on Sketchfab→Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf margin
Serrate
Leaf shape
Ovate
Growth form
Herb
Petal count
5 petals
Petal fusion
Fused
Flowering season
Spring
Ovary position
Inferior
Stamen count
1-2
Phylogenetic Positionキク科 →
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core eudicots > Asterales > Asteraceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (approx. 80–70 million years ago)
Evolution Notes
Butterbur employs a "flowers before leaves" strategy, blooming before leaves emerge to efficiently exploit early-spring pollinators.
View on evolution timeline →Sources & References
AI-generated, needs verification