Japanese name: オオケタデ（大毛蓼） Scientific name:Persicaria orientalis
[Overview]
An annual 1–2.2 m tall, found in sunny vacant lots and similar places.
The whole plant is hairy.
The stem is erect and branched.
The leaves are simple and alternate, ovate, 10–30 cm long and 6–20 cm wide.
Pseudoracemes 2–8 cm long emerge, bearing densely packed flowers.
The flowers have no corolla; the conspicuous calyx is pale red, sometimes white.
The fruit is an achene, glossy black.
[History]
It was introduced as a medicinal herb in the Edo period, and plants later cultivated for ornament escaped and have become naturalized.
[Uses]
The seeds and leaves are used medicinally.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed.
It also spreads readily from self-sown seed.
In a sunny place it grows well regardless of soil type.
