Ceratotheca triloba (wild foxglove)

Japanese name: ケラトテカ トリロバ
Scientific name: Ceratotheca triloba

[Overview]
An annual about 1.5–2 m tall.
The whole plant is covered with soft white hairs.
The stem has 4 ridges and is square in cross section; it is tinged with red in red-flowered forms and green in white-flowered cultivars.
When the stems and leaves are rubbed, they give off a smell like sesame.
The leaves are opposite on the lower part of the stem and alternate on the upper part.
The leaves on the lower part of the stem are ovate and 3-lobed, with coarsely toothed margins and long petioles.
The leaves on the upper part of the stem are ovate to lanceolate and undivided, with shallowly toothed or entire margins and short petioles.
The flowers are two-lipped, about 5 cm long, borne singly in the leaf axils at the stem tips, and pale reddish purple.
The central lobe of the lower lip is elongated, with dark purple streaks on the inside that continue to the base of the flower.
The flowers bloom from the lower part of the stem upward.
The fruit is a cylindrical capsule 3 cm long with 2 horn-like projections.

[Uses]
The leaves and roots are used medicinally.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed.
It prefers sunny, well-drained soil.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient.
If basal fertilizer is applied, no further fertilizing is particularly necessary.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

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