Randia canthioides

General description

Omoro name	Dashikiya
Japanese name	Shimamisaonoki
Family name	Rubiaceae
Okinawan name	Dashicha, Dashika, Dasuke

Location within the park

Characteristics

Randia canthioides is a small evergreen tree that grows in forests in mountainous regions. It can be found on Amami Oshima Island being the northernmost point and is grown on Tokunoshima Island, Okinawa Island, Kumejima Island, Ishigakijima Island, Iriomotejima Island and Yonagunijima Island, and can also be found in Taiwan and southern China. Its trunk stands straight up and is highly elastic. It is covered with a blackish bark. Its leaves grow to be approximately 3 to 6 inches and are dark green. Its flower is white and blooms in early summer. The timber stretches long and narrow, and is dense, hard and rich in elasticity. Taichu Shonin, who introduced the Jodo sect in Ryukyu, wrote in the myth “Ryukyu Shinto-ki” that “The gods who created the Ryukyus, Amamikiyo and Shinerikiyo, grew Dashicha (Randia canthioides) and made a mountain when they first created the country”.

Utilization

【wood】 : resistant material, handle, rafter and sleeper for thatched roof, shipbuilding material, construction material,

Best Time To See Calendar

Omorosaushi (763 of Volume 13) Dashikiya

Meaning of the song
(omitted)
Kikoeoogimi came to the Yarazamori battery
And nailed a peg made of Randia canthioides (sacred tree)
Praying to keep the enemy’s troop away even after a thousand years
(omit the rest)