Japanese name: ナンバンハコベ（南蛮繁縷） Scientific name:Silene baccifera var. japonica
[Overview]
A perennial found along roadsides and woodland edges.
The stem is vine-like, extending 1.5 m or more, and hairy.
Leaves are simple and opposite, broadly lanceolate to ovate, 2–5 cm long and 1–2.5 cm wide, with hairs on the underside and margins.
The leaf stalk is very short.
Flowers are borne singly at the branch tips and open sideways or facing downward.
The flowers are white and 5-petaled.
The petals bend partway along, are 2-lobed at the tip, and are set apart from one another, emerging between the 5 lobes of the calyx, which gives the flower a distinctive shape.
There are 10 stamens and 3 styles.
The fruit is an ovate, fleshy capsule that ripens black and does not split open.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained site.
Cultivation is easy.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient.
If basal fertilizer is applied, no further fertilizing is particularly necessary, but for potted plants liquid fertilizer may be applied as appropriate in spring and autumn.
There are no particular pests or diseases.
