Japanese name: ハナヤエムグラ Scientific name:Sherardia arvensis
[Overview]
A biennial about 20–60 cm tall, found in fields and similar places.
The roots are thin and wiry, and turn reddish brown when dry.
Many stems emerge from ground level and spread by creeping along the ground.
The stems have 4 ridges, with downward-pointing prickles on the ridges.
The leaves are simple, in whorls of 4–7, linear, 1–2 cm long and 0.5 cm wide.
There are coarse hairs on the upper surface, on the veins of the underside and on the leaf margins, making them rough to the touch.
In the upper leaf axils of the stem, inflorescences enclosed by 8 bracts emerge and bear several flowers.
The flowers are 2.5–3 mm across and pale pink or pale purple, and the corolla is 4-lobed.
The fruit is an oblong capsule 1.5–2 mm long.
[History]
It was first collected in Narashino, Chiba in 1961, and naturalization has since been reported in various places.
