Rescue Grass (Bromus catharticus) イヌムギ（犬麦）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I've been writing about plants in Tokyo for several years, so I rarely find a new plant these days. Therefore, finding something tiny hanging from spikelets made me say WOW. They're flowers of rescue grass (Bromus catharticus). Rescue grass is native to America and came to Japan at the beginning of the Meiji era (1868 - 1912). 

The plant is called "inu mugi," which translates to "dog wheat," because the plant resembles wheat but is not edible, i.e., useless. In Japan, the term "inu (dog)" is often used derogatorily, i.e., for something which resembles a useful thing but is different or inferior to it or something useless, like the following:

• Inu jini, translating to a dog death, meaning a useless death
• Inu houzuki, translating to dog ground cherry, meaning black nightshade, whose flowers resemble ground cherry but which is useless 
• Inu, translating to an informant, a snitch, a rat

I did research on why but couldn't find any good explanation. 

2025/5/16

2025/5/15

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このブログを開設して数年が経ち、最近、新しい草花に出会うことが少なくなってきました。だからこのちっちゃい花を見たときは久々に「Wow」と言ってしまいました。可愛いでしょ。イヌムギ（犬麦）です。その名の通り食用にはなりません。

それにしても犬の付く言葉ってひどいものが多いですよね。犬死に、イヌホオズキ（犬酸漿）。警察の犬などなど｡｡｡ なんでだろう♬なんでだろう♬

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