Anchusa azurea (garden anchusa, "Ushinoshitagusa")

Japanese name: ウシノシタグサ （牛舌草）
Scientific name: Anchusa azurea

[Overview]
A perennial 0.9–1.5 m tall.
The whole plant is covered with coarse white hairs.
There are basal leaves and leaves alternate on the stem, all simple.
The basal leaves are lanceolate to oblong, up to 15 cm long (sometimes 35 cm), with entire or wavy-toothed margins, and have leaf stalks.
The leaves on the stem are stalkless.
The flowers are borne in scorpioid cymes, about 1 cm across, indigo blue to purple, with a 5-lobed corolla.
There are 5 stamens, and the throat has scales.
The calyx is divided into 5 lobes almost to the base, and the lobes are linear and pointed.
The inflorescence has small bracts.
The inflorescence and calyx are often tinged with reddish purple.
The fruit is a schizocarp and stands upright.

[History]
It had arrived in Japan by the middle of the Meiji period.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by division.
If conditions suit it, it also multiplies well by self-sown seed.
It has a taproot and dislikes being transplanted.
It prefers a sunny, airy, well-drained, moderately moist soil.
In warm regions, a place that is shaded in the afternoon is suitable because it avoids the summer heat.
It dislikes heat and humidity, and once established a well-developed plant tolerates dryness, so in summer rainfall is sufficient unless sunny weather continues and the soil becomes severely dry.
If a base fertilizer is applied, no further fertilizing is particularly necessary.
To prevent the plant from becoming stuffy in summer, it is good to thin out crowded branches.
If you are not collecting seed, promptly remove spent flowers, and when flowering is over, cut off the whole flower stalk.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

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