Japanese name: アオイゴケ（葵苔） Scientific name:Dichondra micrantha
[Overview]
An evergreen perennial found along roadsides and in gardens.
The stems branch and creep along the ground, rooting at the nodes as they spread, and often form colonies.
The leaves are simple and alternate, reniform-orbicular, about 0.4–1.5 cm long and 0.5–2 cm wide, with entire margins.
The petiole is 0.6–4 cm long.
The flowers are solitary at the tips of stalks 0.3–1 cm long arising from the leaf axils; they are cream-colored, about 0.3 cm across, and small and inconspicuous.
The corolla is deeply 5-lobed, and the lobes are shorter than the sepals.
The fruit consists of two flattened globose mericarps.
[Uses]
The whole plant is used medicinally under the name shokinsen-so.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed, by division, or by stem cuttings.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained place but also tolerates bright shade.
For potted plants, water thoroughly after the soil has dried well; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless sunny weather continues and the soil becomes dry.
If fertilizer is applied at planting, no further fertilizer is particularly necessary, but for potted plants a small amount of slow-release fertilizer or diluted liquid fertilizer may be given in spring and autumn.
There are no particular pests or diseases.
