Torenia fournieri (bluewings, "Hanaurikusa")

Japanese name: ハナウリクサ （花瓜草）
Scientific name: Torenia fournieri

[Overview]
An annual 20–30 cm tall.
The stem has 4 ridges and branches freely.
The leaves are simple and opposite, ovate, 3–5 cm long and 1.5–2.5 cm wide.
The leaf margin is toothed.
The leaf stalk is 1–2 cm long.
A raceme at the stem tip bears sparse flowers.
The flower stalk is 1–2 cm long.
The flowers are tubular and lip-shaped at the tip; the upper lip is 2-lobed and erect, and the lower lip is 3-lobed.
The flower tube is pale purple and the petals are purple, with a yellow marking on the central lobe of the lower lip.
There are also garden cultivars in white and pink shades.
The calyx is tubular and shallowly 5-lobed, with 5 longitudinal ridges bearing wings.
The fruit is a capsule enclosed in the enlarged calyx.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed.
The seeds are extremely fine.
When sowing, do not cover the seeds with soil, and water from below.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained, well-ventilated, fertile site.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, water if sunny weather continues and the soil becomes dry.
During the growing season, apply slow-release fertilizer placed on the soil.
Remove spent flowers promptly.
Pests and diseases include gray mold and aphids.

[Notes]
The Japanese name derives from the fruit shape being likened to Makuwa-uri and from the beauty of the flowers.

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