Kan-aoi (Winter Flower) - Heterotropa nipponica

Japanese: カンアオイ(寒葵) - カンアオイ（英語表記）Heterotropa nipponica

An evergreen perennial plant of the Aristolochiaceae family. It grows under trees in mountainous areas of the Kanto and Chubu regions. The stems are very short and highly branched. Each branched stem bears one leaf and one flower each every year. The leaves are broadly ovate, 6-10 cm long, and heart-shaped at the base. They are dark green with occasional white spots and white veins, and have long, dark purple petioles. The flowers are bell-shaped and bloom halfway to the ground from October to February. They have no petals, and the lower half of the three fleshy calyxes fuse to form a tube that is dark purple with a net pattern on the inside. There are more than 20 species of this plant in Japan, including Tamanokan-aoi, Himekan-aoi, and Miyako-aoi. They are known as food plants for the Luehdorfia japonica butterfly.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

ウマノスズクサ科の常緑多年草。関東，中部地方の山地の樹下に生える。茎はきわめて短く，分枝が多い。分枝した茎先に毎年葉と花を1個ずつつける。葉は長さ6～10cmの広卵形で基部は心臓形になる。色は濃緑色でときに白斑，白脈があり，暗紫色の長い葉柄がある。花は鐘形で 10月～2月に，なかば地面に接して咲く。花弁はなく，3個の肉質の萼が下半部で癒合して筒をつくり，色は暗紫色で内面に網目模様がある。この仲間はタマノカンアオイ，ヒメカンアオイ，ミヤコアオイなど日本に 20種あまりある。ギフチョウの食草として知られる。

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