Japanese name: ニワゼキショウ（庭石菖） Scientific name:Sisyrinchium rosulatum
[Overview]
An annual or short-lived perennial 10–30 cm tall, found in sunny places such as roadsides and lawns.
It has a short rhizome.
The stem is flat with narrow wings.
The leaves are linear, 0.2–0.3 cm wide, with very small teeth on the margins.
An umbel-like inflorescence at the stem tip bears 2–5 flowers.
The flowers are flat, six-petaled, 1–1.5 cm across, white to pale purple and sometimes yellow, with darker lines.
The base of the flower forms a short yellow tube.
Each flower has a slender stalk 2 cm long.
The inflorescence has 2 spatulate bracts.
The fruit is a spherical capsule about 0.3 cm across, glossy and tinged with blackish brown.
[History]
It arrived in Japan around the middle of the Meiji era and has become naturalized in various regions.
