Ranzania

Ranzania was described as a new genus in 1888 by Ito. It has in its time been included within both the Berberidaceae and the Podophyllaceae. Its relationships to these is based on some aspects of its overall form and appearance. Based on different aspects and its unique chromosome structure, it has also been placed within its own family, the Ranzaniacea.

It is named in honour of Ono Ranzan (1729-1810) a noted Japanese herbalist and one of the founding fathers of Japanese Natural history. He apparently published from 1759 onwards and one of his works was the first Japanese botanical reference available to westerners, when it was translated in the 1870s.

Ranzania is a monotypic genus – it contains just a single species, Ranzania japonica which is native to mountain woodlands from central to northern Honshu.

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