Japanese name: ケハギ（毛萩） Scientific name:Lespedeza thunbergii subsp. patens
[Overview]
A large perennial reaching 2 m tall, found on cliffs on the Sea of Japan side.
The branches are densely covered with hairs.
The leaves are alternate and compound with 3 leaflets; the leaflets are elliptic.
The leaf margins are entire.
The stipules are small and lanceolate.
The flowers are pea-shaped, with 4–12 borne in compound racemes 2–5 cm long at the leaf axils.
The flowers are reddish purple.
The pods do not split open even when ripe.
It is said to have the largest flowers among the wild species of Hagi (bush clover).
[Cultivation]
It likes sun and is easy to grow, thriving even in poor or dry soil as long as the soil is not excessively wet.
It is cold-hardy, but most of the aboveground part dies back in winter, so cut it back to ground level and let new branches grow the following year.
Transplanting is easy as long as it is done while the plant is leafless.
