Japanese name: マンテマ Scientific name:Silene gallica
[Overview]
An annual about 50 cm tall, found on riverbanks and along roadsides.
Long hairs and glandular hairs grow over the whole plant.
The stem branches freely, and the lower part creeps slightly along the ground.
The leaves are simple and opposite, elliptic, 2–4 cm long and 0.5–1 cm wide; those on the lower part of the stem are spatulate, wider at the tip.
The leaf margins are entire and slightly wavy.
There are no leaf stalks.
The flowers grow at the stem tips, turned to one side; they are 5-petaled, about 1 cm across, and the petals are crimson with a white border.
The fruit is a capsule.
[History]
It was introduced as an ornamental in the Edo period and has become naturalized from central Honshu southward.
