Scutellaria laeteviolacea var. laeteviolacea ("Shisobatatsunami")

Japanese name: シソバタツナミ （紫蘇葉立浪）
Scientific name: Scutellaria laeteviolacea var. laeteviolacea

[Overview]
A perennial 3–20 cm tall, found in slightly moist places in deciduous forests and at forest edges.
The stem stands erect from a short underground stem and has curved hairs, sometimes mixed with spreading hairs.
Leaves are simple and opposite, borne in 3–5 pairs, ovate to triangular-ovate, 1.5–6 cm long and 1–4 cm wide.
Both surfaces of the leaf have hairs; the upper surface often has purple markings along the veins, the underside is often tinged with purple, and glandular dots are inconspicuous.
The teeth on the leaf margin are usually rounded.
The leaves have petioles.
The leaves below the middle of the stem are the largest, and the internode above those leaves is the longest.
A raceme 2–8 cm long at the stem tip bears flowers in pairs, turned to one side.
The inflorescence is borne apart from the uppermost leaves.
The corolla is purple, about 2 cm long, and lipped; the tube bends at the base and stands up, the upper lip is helmet-shaped, and the lower lip is 3-lobed.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by stem cuttings.
It prefers soil that is well drained and retains water well.
Place it in the sun from autumn to spring, and in partial shade in summer.
Water thoroughly when the soil surface dries.
Too much fertilizer makes it grow too thickly and spoils its shape, so apart from a base fertilizer, watch its growth and place a small amount of slow-release fertilizer on the soil in spring and after flowering.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

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