Japanese name: コオニタビラコ（小鬼田平子） Scientific name:Lapsanastrum apogonoides
[Overview]
A biennial 4–20 cm tall, found on roadsides, in fields, on paddy ridges, and in paddies before they are plowed.
Several stems emerge.
There are basal leaves and stem leaves.
The basal leaves emerge in large numbers in a rosette, are 4–10 cm long, and are pinnately divided.
There are 1–3 stem leaves, arranged alternately.
The flower heads are yellow and borne in corymbs at the stem tips.
The flower heads consist only of 6–9 ray florets, and the corolla is about 5–6.2 mm long.
After flowering, the flower stalk elongates and hangs down, so that the fruit touches the ground.
The fruit is an achene without a pappus, with 2 or 4 hooks at the tip.
[Uses]
As the "Hotokenoza" of the Seven Herbs of Spring, the young leaves are eaten.
[Notes]
The name Tabirako (田平子) describes the way it spreads its leaves in paddies, and it is so named because it is smaller than Oni-tabirako.
