Japanese name: ツルノゲイトウ（蔓野鶏頭） Scientific name:Alternanthera sessilis
[Overview]
An annual.
The stem creeps along the ground, grows up to about 50 cm long, and branches freely.
The nodes have curved white hairs.
Leaves are simple and opposite, lanceolate, 3–7 cm long and 0.5–1.5 cm wide, with nearly entire margins.
The flowers are white with 5 petals, borne in spherical clusters in the leaf axils.
The petals are 2–2.5 mm long, dry and membranous, and slightly glossy.
The fruit is a utricle.
[History]
It is widely naturalized, mainly in the tropics and subtropics and extending into parts of the temperate zone.
In Japan, it is found in paddy fields, riverbeds, wetlands and similar places from the Kanto region westward to the Ryukyu Islands.
