キバナスズシロ

き

ば

な

す

ず

し

ろ

Meanings

1

noun

arugula; rocket; ruccola

usually written using kana alone

Refers to the leafy vegetable Eruca sativa. In Japanese, it is commonly known as ルッコラ, but キバナスズシロ is the native Japanese name.

Written forms

キバナスズシロ
kana-only spelling
Standard katakana spelling for this plant name.
黄き花ばな清白すずしろ
Kanji spelling; rarely used in practice. The plant is almost always written in kana.
黄き花ばな蘿蔔すずしろ
Alternate kanji spelling; very rare.

Kanji

黄yellow
花flower
清pure, purify, cleanse
白white
蘿ivy
蔔giant radish, daikon

Similar words

ルッコラ
ルッコラ is the much more common loanword for arugula in everyday Japanese. キバナスズシロ is the native Japanese name, used mainly in botanical or traditional contexts.

Etymology

The name キバナスズシロ literally means 'yellow-flowered清白 (or 蘿蔔)', where 清白/蘿蔔 is an old name for radish (大根). The derivation is uncertain, but it likely refers to the plant's resemblance to radish with yellow flowers.