The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Chengiopanax sciadophylloides is a tree from Japan, prized in Japanese cuisine for its young spring leaves, known as koshiabura. It is grown mainly for its foraged shoots and timber rather than as a garden ornamental.
Chengiopanax sciadophylloides is a flowering tree in the family Araliaceae native to Japan. Previously included in the genus Eleutherococcus, it is distinguished from other members of that genus by not having spines or prickles and ITS sequence data confirmed the separation.
Chengiopanax sciadophylloides has been found to be a specific hyperaccumulator of manganese even in soils not contaminated with excessive amounts of manganese. In wild plants manganese concentrations of up to 23 grams per kilogram (0.37 oz/lb) of dried leaf have been analyzed.
After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011 it was found that Chengiopanax sciadophylloides accumulated the radioactive isotope Caesium-137 to concentrations above the human consumption guideline of 100 becquerels per kilogram of fresh weight even as far away as Nagano and Iwate Prefectures. Analysis of leaves taken from Chengiopanax sciadophylloides in August and October 2013 from a forest 37 kilometres (23 mi) northwest of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant found a mean concentration of 28,100 becquerels per kilogram of dry weight, over three times those of other trees. They also accumulated the non-radioactive Caesium-133 more than other trees.
Known as koshiabura (コシアブラ), gonzetsu and gonzetsunoki in Japanese cuisine, it is foraged in the wild in spring for the young leaves as sansai ("mountain vegetables"). It is called the "queen of sansai" and often used in tempura, but also popular in a range of dishes. The highest grade of buds is as small as a calligraphy brush, and thus called fude ha ("leaf of brush").
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Chengiopanax sciadophylloides by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
