Japanese name: ショウジョウバカマ（猩猩袴） Scientific name:Helonias orientalis
[Overview]
An evergreen perennial growing in slightly moist places in deciduous forests in the mountains and in secondary woods in lowlands.
It produces many basal leaves in a rosette.
The leaves are narrowly oblong, about 7–20 cm long and 1.5–4 cm wide, with a glossy surface.
When a leaf tip touches the ground, adventitious buds form there and produce small plantlets.
A short raceme is borne at the tip of a flower stalk 10–30 cm tall rising from the center of the leaves, and 3–10 flowers hang sideways to downward.
The flowers are deep purple to pale pink, with 6 lanceolate tepals 1–1.5 cm long and 6 stamens, and the anthers are blackish purple.
The fruit is a capsule, and by the time it ripens the flower stalk has grown to about 50–60 cm.
[Cultivation]
Propagate by division or leaf cuttings.
It prefers partial shade and a well-drained place, but dislikes dryness.
[Notes]
The Japanese name is said to compare the red flowers to a shojo (a legendary red-faced creature) and the spreading leaves to a hakama (pleated trousers), but this is not certain.
