Japanese name: オオアカネ（大茜） Scientific name:Rubia hexaphylla
A climbing perennial growing at the edges of woods in the mountains.
The stem has 4 ridges, with downward-pointing prickles on the ridges.
The leaves are in whorls of 6–8 on the stem and in whorls of 4 on the branches.
The leaves are triangular-ovate, 4–10 cm long and 2–5 cm wide, with a long tail-like pointed tip and a heart-shaped base.
The leaves are thin, and the veins on the underside have downward-pointing prickles.
The petiole is 4–10 cm long and has downward-pointing prickles.
Cymes emerge from the leaf axils and bear sparse flowers.
The flowers are about 3 mm across and yellowish green, and the corolla is 5-lobed.
The fruit is a spherical berry that turns black when ripe.
