Japanese name: キキョウ（桔梗） Scientific name:Platycodon grandiflorus
[Overview]
A perennial 50–100 cm tall, growing in sunny grasslands in the mountains.
It has a thick, spindle-shaped rhizome underground.
The stem is erect, and a white sap exudes when it is damaged.
The leaves are simple and alternate, narrowly ovate, 4–7 cm long, with teeth. The undersides of the leaves are slightly whitish.
Several flowers are borne at the stem tip.
The flowers are bluish purple and bell-shaped with 5 lobes, appearing star-shaped.
The buds swell like balloons.
The fruit is a long-ovate capsule borne facing upward.
Its habitat is decreasing, and it is designated as an endangered species.
[Uses]
It is one of the Seven Herbs of Autumn. The rhizome is used medicinally, and the young shoots are used as wild vegetables.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed, by shoot cuttings, or by division.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained, fertile site.
Cultivation is easy.
