Japanese name: チョウジソウ（丁子草） Scientific name:Amsonia elliptica
[Overview]
A perennial 40–80 cm tall, growing in slightly moist places such as grasslands along riverbanks.
The stem is erect.
The leaves are usually alternate and simple, lanceolate, 6–10 cm long and 1–2 cm wide.
The leaf margins are entire.
Cymes at the stem tips bear many flowers.
The flowers are blue and salverform, 1.3 cm across, with a long tube.
The inside of the tube is hairy.
The corolla is 5-lobed, and the lobes are slender and oblong.
The fruit is a cylindrical follicle 5–6 cm long, borne in pairs.
[Uses]
The whole plant is poisonous.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed, by division, or by shoot cuttings.
It prefers sun to partial shade and soil that is well drained, moisture-retentive and rich in humus.
Strong direct sun in summer can damage the plant, so move potted plants to a cool place in partial shade, and give plants in the ground light shading.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, too, take care that it does not dry out too much.
Apply basal fertilizer, and also place slow-release fertilizer on the soil in spring and autumn.
There are no particular pests or diseases.
[Notes]
The Japanese name comes from the fact that the flower, seen from the side, looks like the character 丁.
