Japanese name: ズイナ（瑞菜、髄菜） Scientific name:Itea japonica
[Overview]
A deciduous shrub about 1–2 m tall, found at forest edges and along streams.
It branches well and spreads sideways.
First-year branches are green.
The leaves and inflorescences usually grow only on first-year branches.
The leaves are simple and alternate, oblong to ovate, 5–12 cm long, with irregular fine teeth on the margin.
The veins are pinnate and protrude on the underside.
Fine hairs often grow along the veins on both surfaces of the leaves.
The leaves turn red in autumn.
Racemes 5–17 cm long at the branch tips bear many small white 5-petaled flowers.
Short white hairs grow densely on the axis of the inflorescence.
The fruit is a broadly ovate capsule that splits open along vertical grooves when ripe.
The seeds are black, very small, and have a net-like pattern.
[Uses]
The young leaves are edible, and the alternative name derives from this.
