Platycrater arguta var. arguta ("Baikaamacha")

Japanese name: バイカアマチャ
Scientific name: Platycrater arguta var. arguta

[Overview]
A deciduous shrub growing in slightly damp woods in the mountains.
It branches freely.
The leaves are simple and opposite, oblong, with teeth on the margin and appressed hairs on both surfaces.
On nodes in the upper part of the stem, the leaves are 10–22 cm long and 3–6 cm wide.
The leaf stalk is 1–2.5 cm long.
Cymose inflorescences 5–10 cm across are produced at the tips of the current year's branches, bearing a few flowers sparsely.
The flowers are white and 4-petaled, 1.6–2.2 cm across, with more than 100 yellow stamens.
The inflorescence has white sterile flowers around the edge, attached in a shield shape and shallowly divided into 3–4 lobes.
The fruit is an inversely conical capsule, with the style remaining.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by cuttings.
It prefers partial shade and moist soil that is well drained and retains water well.
It tolerates shade, but flowers less freely.
It is unsuited to places where the soil becomes extremely dry or that receive strong afternoon sun.
It absorbs a lot of water, so to keep it from drying out, water potted plants thoroughly when the soil surface dries.
Place slow-release fertilizer on the soil in spring and autumn.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

[Notes]
The name comes from the tree's form resembling Amacha and its flowers being likened to those of ume.

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