Japanese name: チゴユリ（稚児百合） Scientific name:Disporum smilacinum
[Overview]
A perennial 8–40 cm tall, often growing in colonies in mixed woodland and similar places.
It has a rhizome and stolons.
The nodes of the stem often turn dark purple.
Leaves are simple and alternate, oblong to ovate, 3–7 cm long, with minute semicircular projections on the margin.
At the stem tip, 1–2 white flowers bloom at a time, facing diagonally downward to sideways.
The yellow anthers of the stamens are conspicuous.
The fruit is a spherical berry 0.8–1 cm across, ripening black.
[Cultivation]
Propagate by division.
As long as the site is well drained, airy and moist, it is not particular about soil.
It prefers a place with sun from autumn to spring and partial shade in midsummer.
For plants in the ground, planting under deciduous trees is good.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground as well, take care that the soil does not dry out, and water thoroughly if the plant looks wilted.
Apply base fertilizer, and also apply diluted liquid fertilizer in spring and autumn.
There are no particular pests or diseases.
[Notes]
The Japanese name means "small, pretty lily."
