Japanese name: ムラサキヤハズカズラ（紫矢筈葛） Scientific name:Thunbergia affinis
[Overview]
A semi-climbing perennial or shrub 1–2 m tall.
The stem is 4-ridged and hairy.
Leaves are simple and opposite, elliptic, 8–10 cm long, with entire margins.
Short racemes arise from the leaf axils at the stem tips, each bearing 1–5 blue-purple flowers 4–5 cm across.
The flowers are funnel-shaped with a 5-lobed tip, and the floral tube bends at the base so that the flower opens sideways.
The inside of the floral tube is deep yellow.
The bracts are pale green and densely covered with glandular hairs.
The fruit is a capsule.
[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings.
It prefers sunny, well-drained soil.
For potted plants, from spring to autumn water thoroughly when the soil surface dries and keep on the dry side in winter; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient.
In spring to autumn, apply slow-release fertilizer placed on the soil.
Spider mites can occur.
