Viola tokubuchiana var. tokubuchiana("Fujisumire")
Japanese name: フジスミレ（藤菫） Scientific name:Viola tokubuchiana var. tokubuchiana
[Overview]
A perennial 3–8 cm tall, found in dark, moist places in summergreen forests in the mountains.
It has a short underground stem.
After flowering, it often sends out runners underground and reproduces by forming young plants along them.
The leaves are ovate, 1.5–4.5 cm long, with a heart-shaped base.
The leaf surface has white blotches along the veins.
The undersides of the leaves are tinged with purple and have short hairs.
The leaf margins have low serrations.
The petiole is 2–8 cm, tinged with purple, and hairy.
The flowers are borne at the tips of flower stalks 5–8 cm long, 1.5–2 cm across, and reddish purple.
Sparse hairs usually grow at the base of the lateral petals.
Behind the flower is an upward-curving spur 5–6 mm long.
The fruit is a capsule that splits into 3 when ripe and scatters the seeds.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by division.
It prefers partial shade and well-drained soil rich in humus.
Water thoroughly when the soil surface dries.
Apply slow-release fertilizer on the soil once in early spring and once after flowering.
Pests and diseases include powdery mildew, aphids, spider mites, armyworms and the Indian fritillary (Argyreus hyperbius) butterfly.
