Japanese name: アキランテス アスペラ Scientific name:Achyranthes aspera
[Overview]
An erect perennial 1 m tall, with many hairs all over.
The base of the stem becomes woody.
The stem is ridged and branched, with swollen nodes.
The stem nodes are often tinged with purple to pink.
Leaves are simple and decussate (opposite, alternating at right angles), ovate to elliptic, and entire.
Spikes at the branch tips densely bear small flowers that are green or tinged with reddish purple.
After flowering, the flowers point downward and lie tight against the axis.
The flowers have ovate bracts with awn-like tips, and the appendages at the base are semicircular and wing-like.
The fruit is an oblong utricle.
[Uses]
It is used as a folk medicine in various regions, and the young leaves and shoots are used as a vegetable.
