Japanese name: アイナエ Scientific name:Mitrasacme pygmaea
[Overview]
An annual found in sunny wetlands.
The stem is very short, and when the plant is not in flower it is only about 0.5–1 cm tall.
Sparse short hairs grow on the stems and leaves.
The leaves are simple, in 2–4 opposite pairs on the lower part of the stem, ovate to oblong, 7–15 mm long and 3–6 mm wide, with 3 veins and slightly pointed tips.
The leaf bases are joined and surround the stem.
1–3 flower stalks 2–10 cm tall emerge, with short hairs on their lower parts.
At the tip of the flower stalk, 3–15 flowers are borne in 1–3 tiers in an umbel-like arrangement.
There are small lanceolate bracts.
The flowers are white and bell-shaped, about 2.5 mm across, and the corolla is 4-lobed at the tip.
The fruit is an ovoid capsule, with the style, joined only at the tip and split in two at the base, remaining.
