Japanese name: ムラサキケマン（紫華鬘） Scientific name:Corydalis incisa
[Overview]
A biennial 20–50 cm tall, found in partly shaded places such as woodland edges and roadsides, and in slightly moist places.
It has no spherical tubers underground.
The plant is soft, and the stem is slightly angular.
The leaves are alternate, twice ternately compound, and 3–8 cm long.
The leaflets are pinnately to ternately divided and have notches along the margins.
A raceme 4–12 cm long at the stem tip bears rather dense flowers.
The flowers are 12–18 mm long and usually reddish purple, but some are white, and some have part of the flower white.
There are 4 petals, but the upper one is longer than the others and has a long spur.
There are 2 sepals, which are divided into thread-like segments.
The fruit is a hanging capsule 15 mm long and 3–3.5 mm wide.
When ripe, the fruit splits open and the seeds scatter.
The seeds have an appendage (elaiosome) that ants like, and they are carried and dispersed by ants.
[Uses]
The whole plant contains toxic components, and it is used externally as a vermifuge and for skin diseases such as ringworm.
