Japanese name: トウテイラン（洞庭藍） Scientific name:Veronica ornata
[Overview]
A perennial 50–60 cm tall, growing on seashores and in pine forests near the coast.
The whole plant is densely covered with white woolly hairs and looks whitish.
Leaves are simple and opposite, narrowly obovate, 5–10 cm long and 1–2.5 cm wide, with a few serrations on the margin.
There are no leaf stalks.
Racemes at the stem tips bear dense bluish purple flowers.
The corolla is 4-lobed.
The calyx is also densely covered with white woolly hairs.
The fruit is a spherical capsule.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed, by division, or by stem cuttings.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained site.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless summer brings a long spell of sunny weather and the soil becomes severely dry.
Apply slow-release fertilizer in spring and autumn.
Pests and diseases include powdery mildew, gray mold and aphids.
[Notes]
The Japanese name compares the color of the flowers to the color of the water of Lake Dongting in China.
