Japanese name: キンギョソウ（金魚草） Scientific name:Antirrhinum majus
[Overview]
A perennial treated horticulturally as an annual.
The leaves are oblong-lanceolate, alternate and entire.
A spike or raceme at the stem tip bears dense flowers.
The flowers are 4–6 cm long with a large corolla whose lower part forms a tube and which has two lips, upper and lower.
The Japanese name comes from the flowers, which resemble goldfish.
The mouths of the flowers of this group are closed, so it is said that only bees strong enough to pry them open and enter the flower tube can take the nectar.
It has been improved horticulturally, and there are many cultivars in a wide variety of flower colors.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed.
Damping-off and similar diseases tend to appear in hot weather, so use sterilized soil and grow it on the dry side.
Pests include aphids and armyworms.
