Aegopodium podagraria (ground elder, "Iwamitsuba")

Japanese name: イワミツバ （岩三葉）
Scientific name: Aegopodium podagraria

[Overview]
A perennial 40–80 cm tall, found in damp places such as the edges of ditches.
It has long-extending underground stems and spreads in mats.
The leaves are alternate, ternately compound or 1–2 times pinnately compound; the leaflets are oblong, and the margins have serrations, some of them doubly serrate.
Compound umbels at the stem tips bear many white 5-petaled flowers about 2 mm across.
There are 15–25 primary and secondary flower stalks each, and there are no bracts at the base of the inflorescence.
The fruit is a schizocarp.

[History]
It was introduced in the Meiji period as an ornamental and food plant.

[Uses]
The young leaves are eaten, and the leaves and roots are also used medicinally.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by division.
It prefers bright partial shade and fertile, moderately moist soil that is well drained and retains water well.
Direct summer sun causes leaf scorch, so when planting in the ground, avoid places exposed to strong afternoon sun or places that dry out.
Because it spreads by extending underground stems, to keep it from multiplying too much, make a frame underground or plant it in a large pot and bury the pot.
Take care that it does not dry out too much when watering; for potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries, and for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless summer brings a long spell of sunny weather and the soil dries out.
If fertilizer is applied at planting, no further fertilizing is particularly necessary, but for potted plants slow-release fertilizer may be given in spring and autumn.
There are no particular pests or diseases, but it is a food plant for the larvae of the Old World swallowtail and similar butterflies.

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