Plant Encyclopedia
Descurainia sophia (herb-Sophia, "Kujiragusa")
Japanese name: クジラグサ (鯨草)
Scientific name: Descurainia sophia
[Overview]
An annual or biennial 15–80 cm tall, found along roadsides and in vacant lots.
The whole plant is covered with white hairs.
The stem is erect and branched.
The leaves are alternate and elliptic, 2–8 cm long and 1–8 cm wide, finely divided to the base two to three times in a pinnate manner, with linear segments.
Racemes bear many yellow four-petaled flowers.
The fruit is a silique 1.5–3 cm long and 0.1 cm in diameter, rising obliquely, with the seeds arranged in a single row inside.
[Notes]
The name is said to compare the finely cut leaves to whale whiskers.
Details
Names
English: herb-Sophia, flixweed, tansy mustard
Japanese: クジラグサ(鯨草)
Japanese: クジラグサ(鯨草)
Life form
Annual, Winter annual
Habit
Terrestrial
Flowering season
April, May, June, July, August
Distribution or origin
Europe
Height
150–800 mm
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Inflorescence
Raceme
Number of petals
4
Flower color
Yellow
Leaf color
Green
Suitable uses
Cut flowers
Translated from our Japanese encyclopedia. If anything differs, the Japanese page is correct.
