松葉菊

Japanese

Kanji in this term
松	葉	菊
まつ Grade: 4	は > ば Grade: 3	きく > ぎく Grade: S
kun'yomi		on'yomi

Etymology

Literally, “pine needle chrysanthemum”, 松葉(まつば) (matsuba, “pine needle”) + 菊(きく) (kiku, “chrysanthemum”). The kiku changes to giku as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ma̠t͡sɨba̠ɡʲikɯ̟]

Noun

松(まつ)葉(ば)菊(ぎく) or 松葉菊(マツバギク) • (matsubagiku) 

1. Lampranthus spectabilis, a species of trailing iceplant

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary).