Viola bissetii var. bissetii("Nagabanosumiresaishin")
Japanese name: ナガバノスミレサイシン(長葉菫細辛) Scientific name:Viola bissetii var. bissetii
[Overview]
A perennial 5–12 cm tall, found in summergreen forests in the mountains on the Pacific side.
It has no aerial stem.
It has a rhizome that extends sideways.
The leaves are basal with long petioles, triangular-long-ovate to triangular-lanceolate, 5–10 cm long, somewhat thick, with a deeply heart-shaped base.
The leaf margins have low serrations.
During the fruiting season the leaves reach 15 cm in length, and the petioles about 20 cm.
The flowers are borne at the tips of erect flower stalks arising from the leaf axils, 2–2.5 cm across, and pale purple.
The bases of the lateral petals are hairless, and the lip petal has purple streaks.
The style is shaped like a praying mantis head, with the upper part projecting briefly to the left and right, and the stigma is pointed like a beak.
There is a short spur 0.4–0.5 cm long at the back of the flower.
The fruit is a capsule that splits into 3 when ripe and scatters the seeds.