Coptis trifolia ("Mitsubaoren")

Japanese name: ミツバオウレン （三葉黄連）
Scientific name: Coptis trifolia

[Overview]
An evergreen perennial 5–15 cm tall, found in subalpine to alpine coniferous forests and in wet places.
The rhizome is slender and extends long.
The leaves are basal, once-ternately compound, hard, and glossy on the surface.
The leaflets are ovate, up to 2.5 cm long and 2 cm wide, shallowly 3-lobed or serrated.
The leaves have long petioles.
The flowers are solitary at the tip of the flower stalk, white, 0.7–1.5 cm across, with 5 conspicuous petal-like sepals radiating outward.
The petals are small, yellow and spoon-shaped.
There are many stamens.
The fruits are follicles 0.5 cm long, arranged in a ring, with no veins on the sides, and the persistent style, 0.2–0.3 cm long, is strongly curved like a hook.
The fruits have stalks 0.4–0.7 cm long.
The seed surface is smooth.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by division.
Sow seed immediately after it is collected.
It prefers a fertile, well-drained, moderately moist soil in a place that is sunny in winter to spring and partially shaded in summer to autumn.
It dislikes dry north winds in winter and dry ground.
When planting in the ground, it is best planted under a tree.
Water thoroughly when the soil surface begins to dry.
Apply diluted liquid fertilizer once every 2 weeks in spring and autumn.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

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