Isodon effusus ("Sekiyanoakichoji")

Japanese name: セキヤノアキチョウジ （関屋秋丁字）
Scientific name: Isodon effusus

[Overview]
A perennial 60–120 cm tall, found in the shade of trees in the mountains.
The stem has downward-pointing hairs and is square in cross-section.
Leaves are opposite, 5–15 cm long, oblong-narrowly lanceolate, hairy on the underside, sharply pointed at the tip, and have low serrations along the margin.
The petiole is winged.
Cymes arise from the leaf axils and stem tips, bearing flowers somewhat to one side.
The inflorescences from the leaf axils come out in large numbers from the node just below the inflorescence on the main stem and are about the same size as it, so the whole looks like one large conical inflorescence.
The inflorescence has small bracts.
The flowers are blue-purple, two-lipped, 1.6–1.8 cm long, with a long tube.
The calyx is two-lipped, and the lobes of the upper lip are lanceolate and sharply pointed.
The flower stalk is 1–2.5 cm long and hairless.
The fruit consists of four nutlets.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by division.
It prefers partial shade and fertile, well-drained soil.
For planting in the ground, it is best planted under deciduous trees.
For potted plants, from spring to autumn water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; in winter, water so that the soil does not dry out completely, or leave the pot where it will be rained on.
For plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless summer brings a long spell of sunny weather and the soil dries out.
From spring to autumn, apply slow-release fertilizer placed on the soil.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

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