Buckleya lanceolata ("Tsukubane")

Japanese name: ツクバネ （衝羽根、突羽根）
Scientific name: Buckleya lanceolata

[Overview]
A deciduous small shrub 1–2.5 m tall, found in forests and at forest edges in somewhat dry mountains.
It is semi-parasitic, mainly on conifers such as Sugi and Momi as hosts, and because it has chlorophyll it also photosynthesizes.
It branches well, and the branches grow horizontally or droop slightly.
Young branches are green.
The leaves are simple and opposite, broadly lanceolate, 3–7 cm long, with a tail-like tip.
The leaf margin is entire or has shallow teeth.
There is a short leaf stalk.
It is dioecious.
Male flowers are borne in cymes at the branch tips or in the leaf axils on the upper part of the branches, and female flowers are solitary at the branch tips.
Both male and female flowers are 4 mm across, pale green, with a 4-lobed perianth.
Male flowers have 4 stamens.
Female flowers have 4 large bracts.
The fruit is an elliptical nut 1 cm long, with 4 bracts that have grown to about 3 cm long at its tip.

[Uses]
The young leaves and fruits are eaten.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed.
Sow the seeds immediately after harvest, burying them at the base of the host.
Plants grown from seed turn out male or female, so sow several seeds so that both male and female plants are obtained.
Always plant it together with a host, and take care not to let the host die.
It prefers sun to partial shade and well-ventilated, well-drained, moisture-retentive soil.
Avoid strong direct sunlight and western sun in summer.
When watering, take care not to make the soil too wet, and water thoroughly when the soil surface dries.
If the host is not affected, somewhat dry conditions are better.
Fertilize so that the host grows healthily.
When repotting, take care never to break up the roots, and move it to a larger pot.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

[Notes]
The Japanese name compares the shape of the fruit to the shuttlecock used in hanetsuki (a Japanese battledore-and-shuttlecock game).

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