穏やかな陽気ですが、本日７日は二十四節気の「大雪（たいせつ）」です。

高い山はすっかり冠雪し、平地でも場所や天候によっては積雪のニュースもちらほら聞こえてきました。本格的な冬です。

 

 

イチョウ並木の鮮やかな黄色もそろそろ見納めでしょうか。イチョウの木が鮮やかな黄色に染まる風景は、実は紅葉よりも好きかもしれません。ですが、雨上がりにイチョウ並木の下を歩いていると、ツルっと滑りそうになるので、イチョウの落ち葉はちょっと厄介者です。

 

他の落ち葉は踏むとパリパリと崩れてしまいますが、イチョウの葉は地面に落ちても形はそのままで、葉も茶色にならずきれいなままです。

実はイチョウの葉は腐りにくい成分が入っていて、地面に落ちてもなかなか分解されにくくなっています。

植物の葉の表面には「クチクラ層」という油分を含む層があって、乾燥などから植物を守っているのですが、イチョウには特にその油分が多く含まれているので、落ち葉になって雨に濡れると、次第に分解され、油分が浮き出してくるので、滑りやすくなるというわけです。

 

以前、お寺関係の知人が、

「イチョウの葉は他の枯れ葉のように燃やしても全然燃えないから、可燃ゴミとして出さないといけない。」と毎年の掃除に辟易していると話していました。

また残念なことに、土に埋めて腐葉土を作るのにも適さないようなんです。

どうやら、広葉樹のようにミミズや微生物がおいしいと思う成分をあまり含まず、逆に美味しくない物を多く含んでいるので、分解してもらえないのだそう。そうは言っても、何年もかければ自然と分解はしていくらしいのですが…。

 

 

 

また、イチョウの木には秋の味覚「ぎんなんの実」がなりますが、じつはオスとメスの木があります。

落ちた実を誰かが踏んだ後の、あの独特の匂い…ちょっと苦手なのですが、その実が落ちている木の方がメスの木です。

木の形としては、実をつけるのでその重みで、全体的に枝が下がっている感じだそう。それに対して、オスの木は枝がぐんぐんと上に伸びている感じなのだそうです。気にしながら見たことはないですが、見比べてみるとわかるんでしょうか。

 

 

 

ではでは、また。（スタッフＴ）

 

 

The weather is mild, but today, the 7th, marks the “Great Snow” solar term.

High mountains are completely crowned with snow, and even in the plains, scattered reports of snowfall are beginning to surface depending on location and weather. Winter is truly here.

 

The vivid yellow of the ginkgo tree-lined avenues may soon be a sight to behold for the last time. I might actually prefer the sight of ginkgo trees dyed in vivid yellow over autumn foliage. However, walking beneath the ginkgo trees after rain makes them slippery, so ginkgo leaves are a bit of a nuisance.

 

While other fallen leaves crumble with a crisp crackle underfoot, ginkgo leaves retain their shape even after falling to the ground. They also stay clean and beautiful, never turning brown.

Actually, ginkgo leaves contain components that resist decay, making them slow to decompose even after falling to the ground.

The surface of plant leaves has a layer called the “cuticle layer,” which contains oils that protect the plant from drying out. Ginkgo leaves contain particularly high levels of these oils. So, when they fall and get wet in the rain, they gradually decompose, causing the oils to rise to the surface, making them slippery.

 

 

A friend involved with temples once told me,

“Ginkgo leaves don’t burn at all like other dead leaves, so we have to dispose of them as combustible waste.” He was fed up with the annual cleanup.

Unfortunately, they also seem unsuitable for burying in the soil to make leaf mold.

Apparently, unlike broadleaf trees, they contain few components that earthworms and microorganisms find tasty, and conversely, they contain many substances that aren’t palatable, so they aren’t decomposed. That said, it seems they do decompose naturally over many years…

 

Furthermore, ginkgo trees bear the autumn delicacy “ginkgo nuts,” but there are actually male and female trees.

That distinctive smell after someone steps on fallen nuts… I’m not a big fan, but the trees where those nuts fall are the female ones.

In terms of tree shape, since they bear fruit, the weight causes the branches to droop overall. In contrast, male trees have branches that shoot straight up. I’ve never really paid attention, but I wonder if you could tell by comparing them.

 

 

 

 

 

Ginkgo nuts are often used in cooking this time of year. I’m not a big fan myself, so that’s fine, but I remember hearing long ago, “Don’t eat too many ginkgo nuts!”

 

The edible part of the ginkgo nut is the “kernel” inside the shell. Its chewy texture can be addictive, but overeating is dangerous. Eating too many can cause poisoning. Symptoms like vomiting and convulsions can occur, so it really seems you should be careful not to eat too many.

 

Incidentally, the exact number causing poisoning isn’t known, but the toxic dose is said to be around 7-150 seeds for children and 40-300 seeds for adults. Forty seeds seems like quite a lot… But if it’s about 40 salt-roasted ginkgo nuts served as a bar snack with drinks, is that a normal amount to eat?

That said, if you enjoy ginkgo nuts, eating them like edamame or pistachios could be dangerous.

 

Well then, see you later. (Staff T)