Polygala myrtifolia (myrtle-leaf milkwort)

Japanese name: ポリガラ ミルティフォリア
Scientific name: Polygala myrtifolia

[Overview]
An evergreen shrub 2–4 m tall, found in its native range on dunes, rocky places and grasslands.
The stems branch freely.
The leaves are simple and alternate, ovate-elliptic to broadly lanceolate, 1.5–4 cm long and 0.5–2 cm wide, with entire margins.
Racemes 1.5–4 cm long emerge from the upper leaf axils and stem tips, each bearing 2–3 magenta-purple flowers.
The flowers are magenta-purple; of the 5 sepals, 2 become large and petal-like, making them conspicuous.
The 3 petals are fused into a tube, and the lower tip has a tufted appendage.
The fruit is a capsule.
The seeds have an appendage (elaiosome) that ants like, and they are carried and dispersed by ants.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings.
To overwinter, keep it at 5°C or above, and bring potted plants into a sunny place indoors.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained, well-ventilated place.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient.
From spring to autumn, apply slow-release fertilizer placed on the soil.
After flowering, it is good to cut it back by about 1/3–1/2 and reshape it.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

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