Isodon longitubus ("Akichoji")

Japanese name: アキチョウジ （秋丁字）
Scientific name: Isodon longitubus

[Overview]
A perennial 70–100 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, narrowly ovate, 7–15 cm long and 2.5–5 cm wide, with sparse hairs.
The leaf margin has low serrations.
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 small numbers from nodes below the inflorescence on the main stem, and are small.
The inflorescence has leaf-like bracts with fine hairs.
The flowers are blue-purple, two-lipped, 1.7–2 cm long, with a long tube.
The calyx is two-lipped, and the lobes of the upper lip are triangular and somewhat bluntly pointed.
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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