春告花

とにかく愛らしく、森でこの花を見つけると思わず声をあげてしまいそうになり、心まで優しくなってきます。こんなに小さい花でも必死に生き残ろうとして美しく咲いている姿を見ると勇気をもらえます。春一番に咲く理由は、その小さく目立たない姿にあります。早春、まだ葉の少ない林床でひっそりと花を咲かせ、虫に受粉してもらうためだそうです。また落葉広葉樹の葉がまだ茂っていないため、林床まで太陽の光がよく届きます。この時期にいち早く芽を出し、花を咲かせることで、他の植物との光の競争を避け、十分な光合成ができるのです。

こうした植物は「スプリング・エフェメラル（春の儚きもの）」と呼ばれ、春の短い間に森の底で活動し、初夏には地上部が枯れて地下で休眠します。これにより、他の植物が繁茂する時期を避けて生き残るための巧みな生存戦略です。

新潟県内でも地域によって花のタイプが少しずつ異なり、佐渡や角田山、柏崎地域など、雪が比較的少ない海岸近くの雑木林に多く見られます。新潟県の自然保護を象徴する花とされ、国内最大の自生地である新潟県の草花に指定されています。まだ花の少ない早春の野山に人の足を運ばせてくれる、春を告げる花ですね。

It is just so lovely that when I find this flower in the forest, I can’t help but shout out to it, and even my heart becomes tender. It gives me courage to see such a small flower desperately trying to survive and blooming so beautifully. The reason why they bloom first in spring is because of their small and inconspicuous appearance. It is said that the reason they bloom first in spring is because they bloom quietly on the forest floor in early spring when there are still few leaves, so that they can be pollinated by insects. Also, because the leaves of deciduous broad-leaved trees are not yet thick, sunlight can reach the forest floor. By sprouting and flowering early in the season, they avoid competition for light from other plants and are able to perform sufficient photosynthesis.

These plants, called “spring ephemerals,” are active on the forest floor during the short spring season, and then die back above ground and go dormant below ground in early summer. This is a clever survival strategy to avoid the period when other plants are thriving and to survive.

The type of flower differs slightly from region to region within Niigata Prefecture, and is most commonly found in wooded areas near the coast where there is relatively little snowfall, such as the Sado, Kakudayama, and Kashiwazaki areas. The flower is considered to symbolize the protection of nature in Niigata Prefecture, and is designated as the largest native flower in Japan. It is a flower that heralds spring, bringing people to the fields and mountains in early spring when there are still few flowers.

EOS5DMarkⅡ+160mm  1/500秒 f：3.2

©️photo by Nakamura Osamu