Boehmeria japonica ("Yabumao")

Japanese name: ヤブマオ （藪麻苧）
Scientific name: Boehmeria japonica

[Overview]
A perennial about 1 m tall, found in hills and fields.
The stems and leaves are covered with many short hairs.
Leaves are opposite, ovate-elliptic and about 15 cm long, with a pointed tip and coarse teeth on the margin.
The teeth are coarser toward the upper part of the leaf margin.
The leaves are somewhat thick.
Usually only female flowers are borne, with spherical clusters of female flowers arranged in spikes.
When male inflorescences appear, they are borne on the lower part of the stem.
The fruit is an achene.

[Uses]
The whole plant is used medicinally.

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