Asyneuma japonicum is a perennial in the bellflower family that grows in the mountains of Japan, Korea, northeastern China, and the Russian Far East; it doesn't grow wild in the US. Its purple petals are split almost to the base into narrow strips that curl backward.
Appearance
- Appearance
- An upright perennial 20–40 in (50–100 cm) tall, sprinkled with coarse hairs.
- Leaves
- Alternate, oval to oblong leaves 2–5 in (5–12 cm) long with toothed edges; the upper leaves have no stalks.
- Flowers
- Blue-purple flowers in spikes along the upper stem. The flower is a single fused tube, but it splits into five thread-like lobes that curl back, so it looks like it has separate petals. Nectar comes from the swollen base of the style and attracts insects.
- Flowering time
- Midsummer (July–August in Japan)
- Fruit
- A small, flattened round about 1/4 in (5–6 mm) across.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Mountain valleys
- Sunny forest edges
- Range
- Native to Japan (Honshu and Kyushu), Korea, northeastern China, and the Amur and Ussuri regions of Russia. It does not grow wild in the US.
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