Lamium album var. barbatum ("Odorikoso")

Japanese name: オドリコソウ （踊子草）
Scientific name: Lamium album var. barbatum

[Overview]
A perennial 30–50 cm tall, growing in colonies along roadsides, at woodland edges, in grasslands, and in somewhat moist deciduous woods.
It spreads by stolons extending underground.
The stem is erect and square in cross-section, with long hairs at the nodes.
Leaves are simple and opposite, ovate, 4–10 cm long and 3–6 cm wide, with coarse teeth.
The upper surface of the leaf and the veins on the underside are hairy.
The leaf stalk is 1–6 cm long.
The flowers form whorled clusters in the upper leaf axils and are white to pale pink.
The corolla is lipped and 2.5–3.5 cm long; the upper lip is hood-shaped with hairs on the margin.
The central lobe of the lower lip spreads widely, serving as a foothold for visiting insects, and has a purple-brown blotch at its base.
The tips of the calyx lobes are sharp and needle-like.
The fruit splits into mericarps.

[Uses]
The young leaves are edible, and the flowers and roots are used medicinally.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed, by division, or by cuttings.
It prefers sun to partial shade and well-drained soil, in a place not exposed to afternoon sun or strong direct summer sunlight.
It is best planted under deciduous trees that provide partial shade in summer.
If the conditions suit it, it grows well even when left alone.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient.
Take care that it does not become too wet in summer.
Little fertilizer is needed, but for potted plants liquid fertilizer may be given in spring and autumn.
Once the flowers are finished, remove the spent flowers promptly.
Leaf spot and slugs can occur.

[Notes]
The Japanese name compares the flowers to dancers wearing hats.

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