Ligularia japonica ("Hankaiso")

Japanese name: ハンカイソウ （樊噲草）
Scientific name: Ligularia japonica

[Overview]
A perennial 60–100 cm tall, found in slightly moist places in sunny mountain grasslands and at forest edges.
In pastures, livestock do not eat it, so it sometimes grows in dense colonies.
It has thick underground stems.
The stem is thick and erect, with purple spots.
The leaves are of two kinds: basal leaves and stem leaves.
Both are round-heart-shaped and deeply palmately divided; the lobes are further pinnately divided, and the margin is toothed.
The basal leaves are about 30 cm in both length and width and have long petioles.
Three stem leaves are arranged alternately; the petioles are short and sheath-like.
At the tip of the flower stalk, 2–8 yellow flower heads are borne in a corymb.
The flower heads are about 10 cm across and have about 10 ray florets.
The fruit is an achene with a reddish brown pappus.

[Notes]
The Japanese name is said to derive from Fan Kuai, a general of the Former Han dynasty in China.
This name appears in Yamato Honzo (1709), but the earlier Kadan Komoku (1664) lists the plant as Choryo-so.
According to Ono Ranzan, Choryo-so came about as follows: Shushu, a monk of Shokoku-ji temple in Kyoto, brought the plant back from China and planted it in the temple, and because he mocked it, it became Choro-so, which was later mistakenly changed to Choryo-so.

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