リュウゼツラン

りゅ

う

ぜ

つ

ら

ん

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

1

noun

agave; maguey

usually written using kana alone

General term for plants of the genus Agave, often used for species like Agave americana. In everyday Japanese, リュウゼツラン is the standard name.

リュウゼツランは数すう十じゅう年ねんに一いち度どだけ花はなを咲さかせる。

The agave blooms only once every few decades.

2

noun

century plant; American aloe

Specifically Agave americana, a large succulent known for its long life and dramatic flowering stalk. Often called アメリカリュウゼツラン in botanical contexts.

この植しょく物ぶつ園えんには巨きょ大だいなリュウゼツラン（アメリカリュウゼツラン）がある。
This botanical garden has a huge century plant (Agave americana).

Kanji

竜dragon, imperial
舌tongue, reed, clapper
蘭orchid, Holland
龍dragon, imperial

Related words

アガベ
アガベ is a more recent loanword from English/Spanish, often used in gardening and trendy contexts, while リュウゼツラン is the traditional Japanese name.
アロエ
Aloe is a different succulent genus; リュウゼツラン is sometimes confused with aloe but belongs to a separate plant family.

Written forms

リュウゼツラン
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is standard for this plant name; usually written in kana.
竜りゅう舌ぜつ蘭らん
Kanji spelling using 竜; rarely used in modern writing.
龍りゅう舌ぜつ蘭らん
Kanji spelling using 龍; rarely used in modern writing.

Etymology

The kanji 竜舌蘭 (dragon tongue orchid) is a descriptive Chinese-derived name, but the word is now almost always written in katakana as a plant name. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.