Japanese name: エゾムラサキ（蝦夷紫） Scientific name:Myosotis sylvatica
[Overview]
A perennial 20–40 cm tall, growing in forests in the mountains.
The whole plant is sparsely covered with coarse hairs.
The stem is erect from the base and branches.
There are basal leaves and stem leaves; the basal leaves are spatulate and appear in large numbers at the fruiting stage.
The stem leaves are alternate, oblanceolate, 2–6 cm long and 0.7–1.2 cm wide, with entire margins; the leaves on the upper part of the stem slightly clasp the stem at the base.
The flowers are borne in scorpioid inflorescences, which have no bracts except at the base.
The corolla is about 6–8 mm across, pale bluish purple from the start, 5-lobed, with a yellow center.
The base of the calyx is somewhat spherical, and at the fruiting stage the lobes spread slightly, exposing the ripe fruits.
The calyx has straight spreading hairs and hooked hairs whose tips are bent.
After flowering the inflorescence elongates, reaching 10–25 cm in length.
The fruit is a schizocarp (splitting into mericarps) that ripens dark brown and is smooth and glossy.
Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu: northern and central Kanto region), southern Kurils, Sakhalin, Korea, northeastern and northern China, Siberia, Europe, North Africa
Height
200–400 mm
Leaf shape
Simple leaf (unlobed)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate, Basal
Leaf margin
Entire
Inflorescence
Scorpioid cyme
Flower color
Blue
Flower diameter
6–8
Leaf color
Green
Translated from our Japanese encyclopedia. If anything differs, the Japanese page is correct.
