udo; Aralia cordata
A perennial plant native to Japan, related to ginseng. Its young shoots are eaten as a spring vegetable, and the root is used in traditional medicine. Often encountered in cooking and health contexts.
When spring comes, I crave udo tempura.
Udo is well known as a wild mountain vegetable.
He's big but useless, just like an overgrown udo tree.
Please peel the udo before cooking it.
Katakana spelling is standard for this plant name; usually written in kana.
Hiragana spelling is also common; usually written in kana.
Kanji form is rare and mainly encountered in botanical or traditional contexts; the reading うど is not obvious from the characters.
The Japanese name ウド is of uncertain origin. The kanji 独活 are ateji (characters used for their sounds rather than meaning) and do not reflect the word's derivation.