Image: Wikimedia Commons (See link for license)
Summer Cypress
Bassia scoparia
ホウキギ
An annual herb native to Eurasia, known in Japan as 'Kochia' and popular as an ornamental for its beautiful autumn coloring. Named 'Houkigi' ('broom plant') because it was once dried and used as a broom. Its seeds ('tonburi') are eaten as 'land caviar.'
Identification Points
- ✓Conical bushy form densely covered with fine linear leaves
- ✓Entire plant turns vivid red to orange in autumn
- ✓Seeds ('tonburi') are small green granules
Habitat
Flower beds, parks (cultivated), and fields
Season
September–November (fall coloring)
Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf shape
Ovate
Growth form
Herb
Petal fusion
No petals
Stipules
Absent
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Ovary position
Superior
Phylogenetic Positionヒユ科 →
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core Eudicots > Caryophyllales > Amaranthaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (ca. 80–65 million years ago)
Evolution Notes
Amaranthaceae (including former Chenopodiaceae) contains many plants with C4 photosynthesis and adaptations to salinity and drought. It includes important food and industrial crops such as spinach, sugar beet, and amaranth.
View on evolution timeline →Sources & References
AI-generated, needs verification