Distylium racemosum

General description

Omoro name	Yusuki
Japanese name	Isunoki
Family name	Hamamelidaceae
Okinawan name	Yusugi, Yushigi

Location within the park

Characteristics

Distylium racemosum is a tall evergreen tree that naturally grows in the mountainous regions of Japan (Kinki region and southwestward), Shikoku, Kyushu, Okinawa, Taiwan and China. It grows to be 65 feet tall. In Izu, which is the northern most point of in Japan for Distylium racemosum, exists a big tree with a trunk circumference of about 13 feet and tree height of 52.5 feet. Its bark is blackish brown and becomes smooth or scaly. Its leaf is leathery and is 1.2 to 3.2 inches long. It has a small brownish-red flower which blooms between January and March in Okinawa. Gall (insect gall) of about the size of a hen’s egg forms on the young branches, and tens of mite larva live inside. It is sometimes mistaken as a fruit.

Utilization

【insect gall】 : colorant, flute
【wood】 : construction materials such as pillar and floorboard, appliance material, material for wooden comb, neck of Sanshin, instruments such as a Bachi of Biwa, fuel wood, wood ash used for pottery manufacture
【tree】 : windbreak forest, tide prevention forest, forest surrounding residence, bonsai

Best Time To See Calendar

Omorosaushi (822 of Volume 13) Yusuki

Meaning of the song
The sun is rising in the east.
There are pure white and bright red
blooms of Akagi (Bischofia javanica) and
Yusugi (Distylium racemosum) in front of the sun.
I wish to pick one and hold it up.
(omit the rest)