also: やぶからし
bushkiller; Cayratia japonica
A herbaceous vine of the Vitaceae family, native to East and Southeast Asia. Often considered a weed due to its vigorous growth. The name literally means 'bush killer' because it can smother other plants.
Bushkiller grew in the garden and killed the other plants.
Bushkiller produces small flowers in summer.
Standard katakana spelling, as the word is usually written in kana.
Alternate katakana spelling reflecting the voiced variant reading やぶからし.
Hiragana spelling for the voiced variant reading.
Kanji spelling; rarely used in practice. It is usually written in kana.
Variant kanji spelling using 薮 instead of 藪. Even rarer than 藪枯らし.
Abbreviated kanji spelling; very rare.
Compound of 藪 (yabu, 'thicket, bush') + 枯らし (karashi, 'killing, withering'), from the plant's tendency to overgrow and kill surrounding vegetation. The reading やぶがらし is standard; やぶからし is a voiced variant.