椎

spine; Castanopsis

Kanji 2070

This kanji yokes two very disconnected topics. With its on-yomi, 椎 primarily represents “spine,” so it appears in terms related to vertebrae, spinal diseases, and disc herniation. But with its kun-yomi, 椎 means “Castanopsis,” a type of tree. In that world we discover delicious nuts that look like acorns and even find our way to shiitake mushrooms, which grow on Castanopsis logs.

Revision history:

June 4, 2021: p. 11: One sentence had "includes/including" twice, so I revised it slightly.

June 12, 2020: Originally published.