Japanese name: ヤクシソウ（薬師草） Scientific name:Crepidiastrum denticulatum
[Overview]
A biennial 30–120 cm tall, found in sunny, somewhat dry grasslands and similar places.
White sap comes out when the stem or leaves are damaged.
The stem is weak, much branched, and erect.
The leaves are of two kinds: basal leaves and stem leaves.
The basal leaves are spatulate, turn reddish in winter, and wither at flowering time.
The stem leaves are simple, alternate, and oblong.
Their bases clasp the stem.
Many flower heads are borne in corymbs at the branch tips.
The heads are yellow, 1.5 cm across, and made up of 13–19 florets.
The flowers open facing upward, and after flowering the flower stalks bend so the heads face downward.
The fruit is an achene 3.5 mm long with a white pappus.
[Uses]
The whole plant is used as a folk remedy, as a bath additive and for frostbite.
