Inamorisou - Inamorisou

Japanese: イナモリソウ - いなもりそう

A soft perennial plant of the Rubiaceae family that grows in the shade of trees in mountainous areas (illustration). The name is said to come from a florist in Nagoya who named the plant Inamorisou after the plant, which grows abundantly on Inamoriyama in Ise Komono during the Edo period. A thin underground stem crawls underground, and the aboveground stem is 1.5-10 cm tall. The leaves are ovate, with 1-3 pairs, and sometimes gather at the end of the stem to look like a whorl of four. The flowers are pentamerous, located in the leaf axils or at the end of the stem, and bloom in May-June. The corolla is tubular funnel-shaped, 2-2.5 cm long, and beautiful pale purple.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

山地の木陰に生えるアカネ科の軟らかい多年草（イラスト）。名前は，江戸時代に名古屋の花屋が伊勢菰野（こもの）の稲森山に多産するこの植物をとり，イナモリソウと名付けたことによるという。細い地下茎が地中をはい，地上茎は高さ1.5～10cm。葉は卵形で1～3対あり，茎の先に集まって4枚が輪生しているようにみえることもある。花は葉腋（ようえき）または茎の先につき5数性，5～6月に咲く。花冠は筒状漏斗形で長さ2～2.5cm，淡紫色で美しい。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

<<: Lake Inari (English spelling)

>>: Sanpaku Inamura