Hosta capitata is a wild hosta whose flower buds bunch into a tight, ball-shaped head at the top of a ridged stalk. It grows wild in Japan, and in Korea if you count the Korean plants that were long treated as the same species. It does not grow wild in the US, but hosta collectors in the US grow it for its rippled leaves and dense purple flower clusters.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A perennial that forms a flat, medium-sized mound, about 16 in (40 cm) high and 38 in (97 cm) wide in gardens.
- Leaves
- Dark green, heart-shaped leaves; garden plants often have a rippled, piecrust-like edge.
- Flowers
- Purple flowers with yellowish open from large, dark violet buds packed into a ball at the top of a noticeably ridged stalk.
- Flowering time
- Late June into July.
- Fruit
- Seed capsules ripen from August to October.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Rocky mountain valleys
- Forest edges
- Damp cliffs
- Range
- Native to southern Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu in Japan. The plants of central and southern Korea, long treated as the same species, are now regarded as a separate species. It does not grow wild in the US.
- Preferred conditions
- In the wild it grows in rocky valleys, often on limestone, granite, or serpentine outcrops, and along open forest margins.
Growing it
- Care
- It is not one of the most popular garden hostas, but it makes an attractive specimen plant and sets viable seed.
Name and classification
- About the name
- A 2026 study found that the Japanese and Korean plants long called Hosta capitata are genetically distinct. It kept the name H. capitata for the Japanese plants and treated the Korean ones as a separate species, Hosta nakaiana.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- The name capitata comes from Latin for "with a knoblike head," after the ball of flower buds.
- Breeders have used it to pass on piecrust leaf edges and heavy flower clusters; one of its offspring is the hosta 'Nakaimo'.
More species to explore
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