Veratrum oxysepalum var. oxysepalum(False Helleborine, "Baikeiso")
Japanese name: バイケイソウ（梅蕙草） Scientific name:Veratrum oxysepalum var. oxysepalum
[Overview]
A perennial 60–150 cm tall, growing in mountain forests, moist grasslands and similar places.
It has a thick, short underground stem.
Leaves are simple and alternate; those from the middle of the stem upward are elliptical, 20–30 cm long and about 20 cm wide, and the leaf base forms a sheath clasping the stem.
The leaves on the lower part of the stem become scale-like and surround the stem.
A large panicle appears at the stem tip.
The flowers are greenish white, 6-petaled, 0.8–2.5 cm across.
The stamens are 1/2 the length of the tepals.
The fruit is an elliptical capsule about 2 cm long.
[Uses]
Although poisonous, the rhizome was used as medicine.
[Notes]
The name compares the flowers to ume (Japanese apricot) and the leaves to an orchid called keiran.
