婆羅門参(バラモンジン) purple salsify

　タンポポのお化けかと思うほどの巨大な綿毛が、そよ風に優しく揺れています。これは、タンポポのではなく、バラモンジンの綿毛です。1m位の高さに伸びた茎の先端についていて、直径7cm程あります。キク科の植物ですが、葉はキク科のそれとは異なり、20㎝程の長さがあり、麦の葉にも似た細長くて直線的な形状です。
　バラモンジンと聞くと、植物でなくバラモン教(ヒンズー教の母体)の神父を連想する名前ではないでしょうか。別名で麦撫子(ムギナデシコ)と呼ばれることもあります。

　The fluffy (collection of seeds) which looks like Dandelion as huge as a monster, sway gently in the breeze. This isn't a Dandelion fuluff; it's Purple Salsify fuluff. It grows at the tip of a stem that has grown to a height of about 1m and is about 7cm in diameter. Although it belongs to the Asteraceae family, its leaves differ from those of other plants in the family; they are about 20 cm long and have a slender, linear shape similar to wheat leaves.
 The plants called "Baramonjin" in Japan. When you hear the name "Baramonjin", doesn't it make you think of a priest in Brahmanism (parent organization of Hinduism) rather than a plant?